SUHRAWARDY HOSPITAL FIRE Limited services resume

Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital at Sher-e-Banglanagar in the capital resumed limited services Friday morning, 14 hours after a fire broke out at the hospital, one of the major health facilities in the capital, Thursday evening.
The fire razed seven wards including paediatrics, gynaecology, female surgery and cabin and partially damaged three other wards including transfusion medicine and physical medicine wards, leaving those inoperative.
The hospital was still unable to admit child patients on Friday as the fire damaged paediatrics ward completely.
The operation theatres and intensive care unit were opened towards Friday noon, but the patients and their attendants were struggling to move between the hospital floors as the lift services were inoperative.
‘We need few more days to begin full-fledged services,’ said the hospital director, Uttam Kumar Barua, Friday morning.
‘We have arranged alternative services for the patients of the wards except the paediatrics one,’ he added.
The authorities suspended weekends of doctors and nurses on Friday to tackle the situation.
Many patients, who were evacuated and shifted to different hospitals after the fire, have begun returning to the hospital.
A booth was opened on the hospital premises for helping the patients and their attendants coming for readmission on Friday.
Around 10:00am, the hospital admitted 322 patients, mostly the relocated ones.
Shila Khanam of Bagerhat was seen coming with her husband, who underwent a brain surgery at the hospital and was relocated to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after the fire, on Friday morning.
‘We have returned today as my husband is under the observation of the doctors here,’ she told New Age. 
After the fire broke out, the hospital relocated 1,174 patients including 72 children and 576 females.
Uttam said the hospital with help of the fire services and volunteers successfully evacuated all the patients.
‘We are working hard to resume normal services soon,’ he said.
Uttam and the hospital resident physician MK Rauf confirmed that there was no casualty.
Alongside initiating a probe by health ministry into the fire, separate probe committee was formed by the hospital with surgery department head Pankaj Kumar Saha leading it and the committee was asked to prepare report by three days.
Pankaj said they began their works but could not tell now how the fire originated.
The hospital officials suspect that the fire originated from storeroom on the second floor and spread throughout the left portion of the new building of the hospital on the ground floor, first floor and second floor.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net