Hospitals flooded by kids, elderly patients [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Hospitals flooded by kids, elderly patients

Local January 05, 2017

Kids and the elderly suffering from diseases caused by cold weather flooded hospitals in the capital and elsewhere in the country.
Doctors told New Age that hospitals were facing a great rush of patients suffering from acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, diarrhoea and other diseases caused by cold weather.
During visits to several hospitals in the capital on Tuesday and Wednesday, New Age found that the children’s wards were fully occupied.
The number of elderly people seeking treatment for chest diseases at the outdoors of hospitals also increased.
National Health Crisis Management Centre said that at least seven people died due to cold infections from November to January 3.
At least 37,722 others suffered from acute respiratory infection, diarrhoea, dysentery and jaundice during the period, it said.
It said 1,367 medical teams were sent to 69 upazilas in 18 districts, mostly in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions, having more patients suffering from various cold infections.
At the paediatric outdoor of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, New Age found parents seeking treatments of hundreds of kids on Tuesday.
Until midday over 550 children, mostly suffering from cold-related diseases waited with tickets to get treatments at the DMCH outdoor, said doctors.
At normal times, treatment seeking children’s number at the outpatient department does not exceed 200, they said.
Paediatric resident physician at DMCH, Rajesh Majumdar, said around 50 per cent of the children were brought these days for the treatment of acute respiratory infections.
Child patients suffering from diarrhoea caused by cold weather virus accounted for the second highest number treatment seekers at the paediatric outpatient department, he said.
The wards for children below five were fully occupied by patients suffering from coughing, fever, asthma and cold allergies, said Dr Farzana.
On Wednesday, the 644-bed Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital was fully occupied with patients.
The number of paediatric patients seeking admission or treatments at the outpatient department increased by over two times, said DSH l deputy director Hossain Shahid Kamrul Alam.
On Tuesday alone, over 1,100 paediatric patients took treatments at the Shishu Hospital Tuesday and their number was twice that of normal times, he said.
He said the children who queued up at the outpatient department mostly suffered from bronchiolitis, child-asthma, running nose, scabies and other cold related problems.
‘Finding it difficult to accommodate so many children coming from the outlying districts we are referring many of them to other hospitals, he said.
At DMCH, the number of elderly patients has increased to twice that of normal times, said doctors.
Dr Dbashish Bhowmick said that at least 200 elderly patients took treatment for chest diseases at the DMCH outpatient department every day in recent times up from 80 in normal times.