Panic killed a young woman in DMCH
Words are not enough to express our shock at the tragedy that took place at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on March 14, where a 24-year-old female patient died because of the negligence of doctors and staff, all of whom fled the ward she was admitted to, suspecting her as a COVID-19 patient. The young woman, an undergraduate student at a university in Canada, returned to Dhaka last week and was admitted to DMCH with gastrointestinal complications. According to our report, the doctors and staff refused to approach the patient when they learnt that she was a Canada-returnee, since DMCH was not equipped to test patients for coronavirus and the medical staff did not have protective suits.
The incident again brings to light the fact that we—the government, medical staff, as well as people in general—are far from being prepared to deal with a possible coronavirus outbreak. It is simply not understandable why the DMCH, being the best public hospital in the country, does not have the protective gear ready, including masks and gloves, since they have to deal with various types of infectious diseases every day. Also, when the whole country is in panic about COVID-19—given the fact that a large number of Bangladeshis living in countries affected by the virus returned recently and that there are now some confirmed coronavirus cases here—how judicious is it on the part of the government to let only the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) test people with signs and symptoms of the virus? Although the young woman was tested negative for coronavirus, it took a long time to get her tested because the doctors at DMCH had to first call the IEDCR officials to come and collect her blood and other samples. By the time the test result reached DMCH, it was too late.
We have some lessons to learn from this case. One, all the public and private hospitals must be prepared and have the basic protective gear to deal with an infectious disease like COVID-19. Despite the directives given by the Directorate General of Health Services to all hospitals in this regard, our hospitals do not seem to be prepared at all. Also, the government should reconsider its decision about giving the sole authority to test the disease to the IEDCR. If the DMCH had the necessary testing kits, they could have tested the young woman earlier which might have avoided the panic that led to her being left unattended. At the same time, the government should prepare specific hospitals to treat coronavirus patients without further delay. Panic might kill more people; only proper precautions can save us.
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