A little foresight goes a long way

Days before the nation started to panic over the crisis of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical professionals and sufficient resources for infected patients, a private medical college hospital in Sylhet was prepared.

It ensured PPE for all its staff members, set up isolation units for patients, prepared ICU and post-ICU units, and managed ventilators -- the most important tools for treating coronavirus patients.

The institution concerned is North East Medical College Hospital, situated at Chandipul in the city.

"When coronavirus started spreading from Wuhan earlier this year, we started our preparation to fight it," said Prof Dr Shahriar Hussein Chowdhury, managing director of the hospital.

"Since the country lacks ICU facilities, we decided to focus on that. We have set up ICU and post-ICU units at our hospital," he said.

"We already installed three ventilators and two more will arrive next week. We have seven BiPAP machines (a device that helps with breathing) and prepared 17 observation beds," he said.

They also managed PPE for all their doctors, nurses and support staff, he said, adding that there are 450 staff members working at the hospital in three shifts.

"When our colleagues at different hospitals are worried for their safety while tending to patients, we are being able to serve people without any fear," Sajeeb Roy, the emergency medical officer at the hospital, said.

The hospital opened two hotline numbers to provide guidelines about coronavirus and its official Facebook page is now connected with "Corona Bot" -- which helps people know more about the virus and global situation.

"We are trying to get more equipment… although there is a shortage," Dr Shahriar said.

"These are challenging times and we are possibly moving towards a perilous period. The government should remain more cautious and prepared. All retired and expert doctors should be asked to rejoin as the country needs their service," he added.

"Presently, the government is focusing on treating suspected patients at isolation centres… We have also prepared our institution and are ready to support the country," he said.