The number of diarrhoea patients has been rising alarmingly at Faridpur Sadar General Hospital once again setting a new record in the district.

At least 78 diarrhoea patients were admitted to the hospital within six hours on Sunday (April 24) and more than 200 diarrhoea patients are being treated at the hospital.

Even many of them are being treated under the tree of the hospital due to bed shortages. The number of diarrhoea patients is several times higher than past few years.        

The hospital authority is struggling to manage the huge flow of patients suffering from diarrhoea and the cancelled leave of the doctors and staff.

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Relatives of the patients alleged that their patients are not getting proper treatment at the hospital due to the influx of the patients. Some of them alleged that they even didn’t get a saline stand which forced them to hang the saline in trees and hands. 

Amena Khatun, a nurse at the hospital, said, “We can’t afford all the patients. As a result, many of them are staying on the floor and under the hospital trees. We are trying to ensure treatment of them also.”   

According to the hospital sources, Faridpur Sadar General Hospital has only 10-bed for diarrhoea patients. But, at present, more than 200 diarrhoea patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Authority has been giving treatment day and night to the diarrhoea patients suspending services to others. Physicians and nurses of the hospital are struggling to manage the huge flow of the patients.  

District Civil Surgeon Dr. Siddiqur Rahman said diarrhoea patients have been rising alarmingly in Faridpur for the last one and a half months. The water-borne disease hits the district in two phases which is a new record.  

Dr. Siddiqur Rahman, however, said, though the number of diarrhoea patients is more than the previous years, there is no reason to worry as they are giving treatment to the patients at their level best.

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All diarrhoea patients get cured within 2-3 days, he added.

The civil surgeon urged Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur to admit some diarrhoea patients considering the dire situation at the Faridpur Sadar General Hospital.

“If Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital admits diarrhoea patients, then the pressure on sadar hospital will decrease and patients will also get better treatment,” Siddiqur Rahman said.