General patients with various complications including serious diseases are being harassed in many ways and refused at government and private hospitals when they go there to get treatment amid covid-19 crisis.
Seeking anonymity a patient alleged that, he went to three hospitals in the capital on Monday and bought tickets to get treatment at the outdoor. However, he was refused by the staff members of the hospitals as he was suffering from fever.
There are countless posts in social media regarding rejection of patients from hospitals. Doctors and hospitals are reluctant to treat patients from the very beginning of coronavirus pandemic in the country. The situation is being worsened day by day.
A large number of patients could not get admitted to the hospitals to get general treatment.
On the other hand, many doctors and nurses were infected with the deadly virus as patients hid their symptoms of Covid-19 when they got treatment.
Sharmin Akter said she received treatment from a medical center at Dhanmondi. Earlier she was denied by two hospitals.
Experts opined that treatment should be available for covid and non-covid patients separately following safety measures.
Seeking anonymity an ACC director said his elder brother had a stroke a few days ago in Chittagong. They went to some eight hospitals but could not get an access to any of the hospitals.
Next morning his brother succumbed. Staff members refused to treat the patient as they thought he was Covid-19 positive. But, actually he was not, the director of the anti graft body added.
When contacted several officials of the department of health denied to make any comment in this regard.
Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) President Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin said, "Patients are not getting treatment in the hospitals. It is not right and acceptable at all."
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) consultant Professor Dr Mushtaq Hossain told that some hospitals do not want to admit patients due to fear of coronavirus. I think they are doing this to protect the doctors. However, they should test and treat the patients rather refusing them.
Medicine professor Z M Kabir Chowdhury from his working experience in Liberia capital Monrovia’s Ebola treatment plant said, “Refusing critical patients is one of the worst medical cultures in South Asia. This is unbelievable for a medical professional to let patients die without treatment. Doctors can save lives, there should be no excuse while serving patient if someone chooses this profession.”
“We all understand the danger of Coronavirus. Wearing proper safety gears minimize the risk of infection, I guess most hospitals are now well equipped with personal protective equipments. My several doctor friends at New York got infected, one died but neither they have shown excuse nor stopped treating patients due to limitation”
Mentioning lack of professional hollowness of system, he urged young and veteran physicians to lead the fight against coronavirus.
