Child patients cram hospitals as pneumonia spreads in Nilphamari
No child specialist at Sadar Hospital
Child patients on their mothers' laps at Nilphamari Sadar Hospital yesterday.Photo: STAR
With the spread of pneumonia and other cold-related diseases, three to four child patients have to share a bed at Nilphamari 100-bed Hospital while in absence of any child consultant, a doctor and two nurses at the ward are struggling hard to cope with the situation. Child patients are also taken to other hospitals in the district in large numbers everyday, health officials said. Tasmin Begum of Khukhapara in Nilphamari municipality, who admitted her 11-month-old son Sajib to the children's ward of Nilphamari Sadar Hospital yesterday, at first thought of leaving the congested and stinky ward but she had to stay as it was a question of her baby's life and death. As the hospital is without any child consultant for last three years, Resident Medical Officer Dr Khorshed Alam is giving treatment to baby patients and only two staff nurses are attending the babies. At least three doctors are needed to work in three shifts in the ward, Dr Khorshed said, adding that gravity of the situation can be understood from the fact that three to four baby patients are staying in a bed. The two nurses working at the children's ward now find it hard to manage so many patients, mostly attacked with pneumonia. Many children later get other diseases like bronchitis, asthma, jaundice and diarrhoea, said nurse Rubi Begum. Visiting the children's ward of Nilphamari 100-bed Hospital yesterday and Monday, this correspondent found that the babies and their mothers had to sleep on the hospital beds by turn. Several mothers, sitting on the edge of beds, were holding babies on their laps while many others were feeding breast milk standing. The hospital authorities said there are only 12 beds in the children's ward but now they have to admit 40-45 baby patients daily. Thirty-four babies were admitted to the hospital yesterday while the number was 43 and 40 on Monday and Sunday. In the outdoor, 100-110 sick babies take treatment on an average everyday. On Saturday, Rahima Begum of Kachukata village brought her three-month-old pneumonia-affected baby Babu but got a bed already shared by three patients. She said it is difficult to get proper treatment at the crowded ward and the only doctor in the ward visits her son once in a day. Banu Begum, 26, took her one-month-old son Limon there from 18km off Jadurhat village on Friday. The baby got some relief after treatment for acute pneumonia but later he was attacked with diarrhoea. She said the hospital authority supplied some medicines but she had to buy costly injections Sidobac-250 and Flacol. Senior Medical Officer of Nilphamari Civil Surgeon's Office Dr Abdul Mazid said the number of baby patients is on the rise but there is shortage of physicians compared to beds in all the hospitals of the district.
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