Chittagong General Hospital suffers from staff crisis
A nearly empty ward of Chittagong General Hospital which is generally avoided by patients due to a dearth of staff. The photo was taken recently. Photo: Prabir Das
Despite being upgraded to 250 beds on February 1 this year, Chittagong General Hospital (CGH) is running with the same manpower it had in 1987 with 80 beds. The first public hospital to be established in Chittagong has 21 doctors out of a total 91 staff members, barely enough to provide proper treatment to healthcare seekers arriving at CGH. Out of the remaining 70 staff members, 43 are nurses, a far cry from the standards of World Health Organization, which states that three nurses and five paramedics are required against each doctor. This was affecting the number of patients getting admitted to CGH as healthcare seekers, as per CGH sources, apprehended that proper treatment was not possible with the low staff numbers in CGH. It is ironic that when Chittagong city's remaining public hospital, Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), was failing to cope with the heavy influx of patients, beds in CGH remained vacant. During a recent visit, the 50-bed Surgery Ward was found catering for 28 patients while its two cabins were vacant. It had one junior consultant and two assistant registrars, the same as in the 50-bed Gynecology Ward, said the sources. Meanwhile, the 45-bed Child Health Ward had one senior consultant and there was one senior consultant, one resident medical officer and two assistant registrars for the 55-bed Medicine Ward. Admitting that there was a shortage of manpower, CGH Superintendent Dr Abu Tayab said it was the only problem CGH was facing. He said treatment facilities in CGH had improved considerably while there was adequate medicine stored in CGH, capable of meeting the demands of patients arriving every day. Established in 1901 and covering an area of over eight acres of land, CGH is the oldest hospital in Chittagong city. It was renamed Chittagong Medical School Hospital and upgraded to a 200-bed one in 1927. CGH came under the purview of CMCH after the latter was established in 1959. With the change in government, changes took over CGH. On May 1, 1987, the then Ministry of Health and Family Welfare separated CGH from CMCH to make a new hospital with 80 beds. In 2003, CGH was converted into a 150-bed hospital but there was no proposal to increase its manpower. And the situation remains the same following the conversion to 250 beds. “The government has already approved 90 posts for the hospital and I hope appointment in those posts will be made by November,” said Dr Abu, also the civil surgeon of Chittagong. The Ministry of Public Administration had proposed 106 posts for the hospital on September 27, 2011. The aim was to provide 197 staff for the then 150-bed hospital. The Ministry of Finance, on August 7, 2012, approved the 90 posts and the proposal was sent to the Ministry of Law for vetting. “We will seek more manpower for the 250-bed hospital in the coming January,” said Dr Abu. On contact, Dr Sheikh Shahabuddin, deputy director (health), Chittagong division, admitted that a lack of adequate doctors and nurses was hampering the proper functioning of CGH. Some doctors were brought to the hospital on deputation while the standard of treatment in CGH had improved, proven by the greater rush of patients nowadays, he stated. Adequate manpower for CGH will be provided very soon, he assured.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments