Chest disease clinic without X-ray facility for last 15 yrs!
Believe it or not, the lone government Chest Disease Clinic in the town, meant for free treatment of tuberculosis (TB) patients, is running without any functional X-ray machine for the last 15 years.
Arrangement of different other essential tests is absent too.
Worse still, the building that houses the clinic from 1962 has turned risky.
Rain water drips through the roof of nine of its 11 rooms, including the pharmacy, and it makes storage and distribution of medicines difficult, said
Babul Chandra Das, pharmacist of the clinic.
The bathroom meant for the patients is unusable too.
The clinic has arrangement for testing cough only.
X-ray and all other examinations related to the diagnosis and treatment of TB have to be done at private clinics, and it costs a patient over Tk 1000, said patients.
Several patients alleged that doctors refer the patients to New Ultrasonography Centre and Pathology on Kalibari Road in the town to get 'commission'.
Patients, mostly belonging to poor families from Mymensingh, Netrakona, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Tangail, Manikganj and Sunamganj, come to the clinic for treatment of TB, clinic sources said.
On an average, 300 patients take out-door treatment at the clinic every month, said Dr Shaheen Sultana, medical officer of the clinic.
The clinic is also suffering from staff shortage. The posts of two male home visitors are lying vacant for long and no post for security guard has been created there yet, clinic sources said.
Dr Parikshit Kumar Parh, junior consultant (in-charge) of the clinic, said it is also a referral centre for 'External Quality Assessment' to ensure quality test of 41 peripheral laboratories for TB treatment in Mymensingh, Sherpur, Gazipur and Manikganj but the clinic itself is beset with various problems.
Dr ASM Abdus Samad, civil surgeon of Mymensingh, said, "We wrote to the authorities concerned several times for arranging a new X-ray machine but to no effect. Besides, the clinic should be shifted to a new house as the old building has turned risky."
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