More than 20 lac people live in nine upazilas of Faridpur district. The 517-bed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital (BSMMCH) located in the district headquarter acts as the major treatment hub for these people, as well as the people of some nearby districts.

But Covid-19 patients are not getting proper services in the ICU unit of the hospital, due to shortage of necessary medical equipment and inadequate number of doctors, even though the authorities claim that they are giving their best efforts.

The hospital is expected to have 24 doctors across two shifts for the 16-bed ICU unit but there are 9 doctors only. Besides, only ten out of 16 ICU beds have monitors running and ventilators work for eight, complained the hospital authority.

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Juthika Biswas, a nurse at the ICU ward, said, "The most vulnerable coronavirus infected-patients are treated in this ward. It is hard to cope up with the small number of staff we have, we are still trying our level best.”

The number of patients in Covid unit is increasing day by day. Due to the poor number of doctors and the lack of necessary equipment their treatment is being hampered.

According to the Faridpur Civil Surgeon's Office, in the second wave of Covid-19 the total number of infected people in the district has been 9568 of which 137 patients have died.

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Despite all the odds, the staff of BSMMCH corona ward have been serving the patients at the risk of their own lives.

BSMMCH ICU ward in-charge Dr. Ananta Kumar Biswas, referring to various problems at the hospital, said the pressure of Covid-19 positive patients in the ICU ward is very high compared to the number of doctors. Where 24 doctors are needed, there are only 9. The situation is the same in other wards as well.

"In this situation if we’re provided with doctors, high flow nasal canals, monitors and ventilators, we can deal with any situation," he claimed.

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BSMMCH Director Dr. Saiful Islam said, "I have sent a letter to the ministry asking for more doctors and equipment for the large number of patients during this pandemic."

Faridpur Citizens’ Forum official and the president of the local press club Kabirul Islam Siddiqui urged the Health Ministry to help ensure service to the patients of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur.

Considering the large number of people who come to this hospital, it is necessary to increase the number of beds in the ICU ward and provide the necessary equipment for uninterrupted service.

Also read: 8,873 general, 565 ICU beds available for Covid patients