2 docs for 20-bed hospital!

There are only two doctors and six staff working in 20-bed Kuakata Hospital, as a result, local people are being deprived of proper treatment.

The health department built the hospital on three acres of land in 2007 at a cost of around Tk 5 crore. The two-storey hospital is equipped with modern operation theatre, diagnostic lab, and residential quarters for doctors, nurses and others employees.

Although the hospital is well-equipped, local people are deprived of proper treatment due to lack of doctors and nurses since its opening in 2012, said medical officer Md Moniruzzaman. There are only two doctors against six posts, he added.

Other working staff are a head assistant cum accountant, an office assistant cum data-entry operator, a ward boy and a lab assistant, while 18 other posts have been lying vacant since its opening, he added.

Md Al-Amin of Pashchim Kuakata village said they are not getting proper treatment from Kuakata hospital due to lack of doctors.

In many cases patients have to go to Kalapara upazila town or Patuakhali district headquarters for taking treatment, he said, adding that some have to go to Barishal, which is very expensive.

Abul Hasan of Dalbuganj said there is a nice looking building but proper treatment is not possible due to lack of physicians.

Medical Officer (MO) Md Moniruzzaman said there are only two doctors for six posts, and they face many problems in running the hospital due to that.

“On average, we have to treat 100 outdoor and indoor patients daily. The authorities have to fill all the vacant posts to ensure proper service," he said.

“We often have to refer patients to Kalapara Health Complex, which is 22 km away, or to Patuakhali General Hospital, which is 72 km away, or to Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, which is 112 km away,” the MO said.

Kuakata Mayor Abdul Bareq Mollah said the government should take steps to solve the problems immediately.

Patuakhali Civil Surgeon Dr Mozahedul Islam said they run the hospital with only two doctors and a few others staff, which is insufficient to serve the people.