The government has taken the highest level of preparedness to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services in 11 flood-hit districts in eastern Bangladesh, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain said on Monday.
"No patient should be deprived of treatment. Adequate stocks of medicines, saline, antivenom and healthcare personnel have been kept ready while additional medical teams will be deployed from the central level if necessary," he said.
The minister came up with the information while speaking at a press briefing on healthcare services in flood-affected areas at the Secretariat.
Besides, the leave of health workers in the vulnerable districts had been cancelled to ensure uninterrupted medical services, he said.
Heavy rainfall and flash floods over the past few days had inundated several districts in the Chattogram region, disrupting communication, economic activities and healthcare services, said the minister.
Special healthcare services are now being provided in 11 flood-affected districts—Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Feni, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Chandpur, Cumilla and Brahmanbaria, he said.
When floodwater entered the ground floor of a hospital, doctors, nurses and health workers worked overnight to move medical equipment to safer locations to keep services operational, he added.
A senior physician has been assigned to monitor the overall health situation in each district, while the Health Ministry's control room is operating round the clock to coordinate response efforts and collect field information, said the minister.
The ministry is maintaining constant coordination with district administrations, civil surgeons, hospital authorities and local administrations to monitor the evolving situation, he said adding special instructions had been issued to ensure healthcare services for pregnant women, children and people living in remote areas.
Referring to the risk of snakebites during floods, the minister said the government had issued advance warnings and urged people to take snakebite victims to hospitals instead of traditional healers.
He said five snakebite patients were admitted to hospitals on the first night of the flooding, received antivenom treatment and have all recovered.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury said 95 snakebite patients had so far received treatment at hospitals in the flood-affected districts and all of them were now healthy.
More than 1,000 vials of antivenom are currently available, while 21,000 vials have been stocked at the district level. Another 25,000 vials are expected to be added within the next 15 days, ensuring there will be no shortage of the life-saving medicine, he said.
The Health Secretary also said water purification tablets are being distributed to help prevent waterborne diseases after the floods.
He said sufficient stocks of oral rehydration salts (ORS), intravenous saline, medicines and specialised medical teams have been kept ready to tackle diarrhoea, cholera and other waterborne diseases, while arrangements have also been made to transfer patients to higher-level hospitals if required.