Demand for ICU beds rising in Ctg

With the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in Chattogram, accommodating the surge of patients is becoming difficult in government hospitals with limited ICU facilities.

Besides, most upazila health complexes do not have the facility of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC). Many don't even have central oxygen supply.

Only three of 14 upazila health complexes in Chattogram have HFNC facility while eight of those have central oxygen supply system.

"We had over a year to fix those but we couldn't," said public health expert Prof Dr Shakeel Ahmed, also head of Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) laboratory.

However, all health complexes have Covid-19 isolation beds.

Dr Abdur Rob, a senior consultant of medicine and head of Covid-19 ward of Chattogram General Hospital, said only three ICU beds out of 18 in Chattogram General Hospital were available yesterday.

Meanwhile, sources at Chattogram Medical College Hospital said eight of 10 ICU beds dedicated for Covid-19 patients in the hospital were occupied.

Only these two government hospitals have ICU support in Chattogram where patients can avail the facility at a cheaper cost.

However, there are some 50 ICU beds in private hospitals in the city but most patients cannot afford those.

The private hospitals charge Tk 20,000 to Tk 30,000 a day for this facility, said patients and sources at the hospitals.

Golam Mawla, a lawyer by profession, alleged that he admitted his father to an ICU of a private hospital in the city on Sunday but the hospital handed over a Tk 96,000 bill to him in 24 hours.

He urged the authorities concerned to fix the treatment rate of Covid-19 patients at private hospitals in the city.

Contacted, Civil Surgeon Dr Sheikh Fazle Rabbi said he did not get any such complaint.

"If we get specific complaint, we would investigate into it," he said. There is no scope for capitalising helplessness of patients this way, he added. 

Meanwhile, five patients died of Covid-19 and 552 tested positive in Chattogram in 24 hours till 11:30pm on Wednesday. On Tuesday, 10 persons died -- highest in 66 days.

Besides, 399 people tested positive out of 1,364 on Tuesday. Of the 399 patients, 284 were from the city and 115 from upazilas, said Dr Rabbi.

Meanwhile, the rate of death is still high in upazilas. Of the 10 deceased on Tuesday, six were from different upazilas.

According to experts, apathy towards following health rules, social transmission of the Delta variant and limitation of proper treatment facilities at local health complexes were the key reasons behind this.