DMCH’s burn unit to be used for Covid-19 patients

The burn unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the capital is going to turned into a centre for treating Covid-19 patients amid the growing number of detections in the last couple of days.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry issued a circular in this regard stating that as more dedicated facilities are needed for Covid-19, the burn unit will now be used exclusively for treating such patients.

Some DMCH doctors, however, worry what that may mean, as people from all over the country visit the hospital on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the authorities also requested to shift the burn unit's patients to the nearby Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute.

Dr Samanta Lal Sen, chief coordinator of the institute, today said they have received the health ministry order.

"We will start shifting the patients tomorrow and try to complete it by then," he said.

There are more than 500 in-patients in the burn unit everyday against nearly 300 seats.

A number of doctors at DMCH opposed the government decision saying DMCH is the premier hospital where patients from across the country come to.

"The hospital is overcrowded with patients. If any portion of it is dedicated for Covid-19 patients, the virus may spread," a doctor, preferring anonymity, said.

Another doctor suggested that the government rethink the decision and build new temporary hospitals or dedicate an entire hospital for covid-19 patients.

"It is not possible to dedicate the whole of DMCH for Covid-19 patients. Many including, Basundhara group, are offering places for setting up temporary hospitals. The authorities should make arrangements there to treat Covid-19 patient in those places," another doctor said.

He, however, said all the hospitals may be used for treating Covid-19 patient if the situation worsens and thousands get infected.

In regards to this, an official of the health ministry told The Daily Star that they would use the burn unit of existing hospitals for Covid-19, if they numbers of patients rose.

He said a section of doctors are opposing the move as some of them think that they have to treat patients there.