A patient lies on the floor beside dumped medical wastes on the third floor of National Institute of Traumatology.
Middlemen control treatment facilities Monir Hossain, with his fractured leg, on Thursday morning was groaning in pain outside the emergency operation theatre of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation. He had come all the way from Monpura, Bhola and took admission into NITOR at 3 AM. Doctors at the emergency department prescribed immediate surgery for him. As accompanying relatives did not get a serial number after waiting for it for eight hours Monir was found groaning in pain outside the OT. A trolley puller demanded some cash from Monir’s relatives for collecting the OT’s serial number for Monir. His father-in-law, Abul Kalam, a farmer in his 60s, told New Age that he had to pay Tk 4,000 to the trolley puller to secure Monir’s entry into the OT.
He said that the amount was fixed after much haggling. Abdul Mannan, a businessman from Satkhira, was admitted to NITOR with his broken knee on November 18. On Thursday, he had to pay Tk 1,500 to a trolley puller to get his serial for entry into the OT for a second surgery on his knee. Mannan could not be operated upon as his blood pressure was fluctuating. His nephew Mohammad Ridoy said that Mannan’s family paid Tk 3,000 to a middleman to get the serial for entry into the OT for undergoing surgery for the first time on November 18. Finding the payment not sufficient the staff in the OT began to drill holes on his leg without using anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was used only after Mannan offered to pay more, said Ridoy. The two instances show the plight suffered by patients at NITOR, the country’s lone government run orthopaedic hospital.
Middlemen could be seen waiting at the entrance of NITOR’s emergency department to catch new patients seeking admission. Non patient can expect to get admission without paying the brokers, said Masud Rana. On November 22, Masud had brought his 80-year old father Abdul Karim from Sherpur with fractures on his right leg. Officially a patient has to buy a ticket for Tk 15 to get entry into NITOR’s emergency department. Masud said he had to pay Tk 500 to a broker to get a bed at the emergency unit for his father. He said that the trolley puller had to be paid Tk 200 for taking his father to the emergency ward. Every day, at least 150 patients with injures seek emergency treatment at NITOR. NITOR’s 40- bed emergency ward remains fully occupied round the year. The number of admitted patients at the 500-bed NITOR exceeds 570 on any given day. NITOR officials said only two doctors attend patients at the emergency department. On Thursday, there were 85 patients at NITOR’s 40-bed emergency unit. Lack of space forces patients with serious injuries to wait in front of the OT risking infection. The entire hospital is littered with wastes exposing the patients to serious risks of infection. The bathrooms are unhygienic creating the impression that they are seldom cleaned. Patients complained that the food served free of charge were uneatable. Patients said that they don’t get free medicines supplied by the government. Doctors declined to comment saying that they had no permission to speak to journalists. Hospital officials said that low paid employees of the hospital formed a cartel under political banner to control the treatment facilities to earn money by making the patients hostage. None can touch them, they said. The patients are also scared to lodge complaints, they said. NITOR director Iqbal Qavi took no questions from New Age at his office. ‘The common practice here is that patients have to pay extra money to get their service,’ NITOR deputy director Rafiqul Islam Miah told New Age. Asked why no action is taken against the errant staff, he said, because none complaints. Asked why patients needing emergency surgery had to wait outside the OT, he said only one out of five OTs remains open between 2 PM and 8 AM. NITOR has 138 doctors, 304 nurses and 200 lower-tier staff. Rafiqul said that unhygienic atmosphere prevails in the hospital since 20 cleaners’ positions fell vacant.
Source: New Age
