The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has instructed hospitals across Bangladesh to increase the number of beds to cope with the rising number of dengue cases in Dhaka and other parts of the country.
Hospitals in the capital have been given particular priority under the directive.
The government is also considering reopening the field hospital set up on the premises of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. At the same time, authorities are considering transferring some patients from Dhaka Medical to the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute to ensure that dengue patients do not face difficulties in receiving treatment.
The dengue situation was reviewed in detail at a meeting held at the Secretariat on Sunday, chaired by Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain. Necessary instructions were issued following the meeting.
Professor Dr Nurul Islam, director of the Hospital Branch of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told BSS that the meeting instructed hospitals to increase beds for dengue patients.
He said arrangements would also be made to transfer some patients from Dhaka Medical to the burn unit. Authorities are also considering reopening the field hospital established at Dhaka Medical College, he added.
Nurul Islam said Mugda Medical College Hospital had been instructed to increase its dengue bed capacity further.
He also said Kurmitola Multidisciplinary Hospital had been asked to treat dengue patients coming from outside the capital instead of Kurmitola General Hospital.
“Most of the patients are in Dhaka, so we have asked the directors of different hospitals in the capital to increase their bed capacity,” he said.
The director said government hospitals do not turn patients away even during periods of crisis. However, when the number of patients exceeds available bed capacity, patients face various difficulties.
He said hospitals outside Dhaka were also being urged to remain prepared in order to reduce pressure on facilities in the capital and minimise patient suffering.
According to DGHS data, 90,356 dengue patients had been admitted to hospitals across the country as of October 6 this year, while 281 people had died from the disease.
Among the reported deaths, 132 were men and 145 were women. Of the total dengue patients, 62.3 percent were male and 37.7 percent were female.
Dhaka Division has recorded the highest number of dengue deaths so far this year, with 127 fatalities. The figures for other divisions are 24 in Barishal, 25 in Chattogram, 55 in Khulna, 23 in Mymensingh, 19 in Rajshahi, six in Rangpur and two in Sylhet.
