Too many children, too few beds

Zidan, a seven-year-old pneumonia patient, has been lying on the floors of Bhola General Hospital for the last five days.

"The condition of my son is critical, but there are no vacant beds in the hospital, and their manpower is also very limited," said his father Zafar, a carpenter.

During a recent visit, this correspondent witnessed hundreds of patients crowding balconies, corridors, and open spaces in front of lifts and staircases due to a shortage of beds.

Almost half of them are children suffering from pneumonia.

Four-year-old Aflina, one-year-old Jamima, and many others like them have been unable to find beds, as currently around 300 children are admitted there, despite a capacity of only 64 beds for children.

As this place is far from Barishal, people from the remote chars of Bhola come here for treatment. Most patients belong to poor families and cannot afford private facilities, they added.

According to consultant doctor Salahuddin, around 500-600 patients come to this 250-bed hospital daily.

Meanwhile, 34 out of its 60 doctor posts and 26 of its 80 nursing positions have been vacant for around a year, said Dr Monirul Islam, the hospital supervisor.

"There is only one consultant for the 300 kids being treated here. It is extremely difficult for us to treat them with such limited resources. We have asked the authority to recruit staffers but to no avail. We are trying our best to serve patients," he said.