Covid patients in Rajshahi go to hospital at last moment

Freedom fighter Yusuf Ali, 65, returned to the country about two to three months ago after a leg surgery in India’s Bangalore. He has been physically fit since then. On 30 May, he suddenly started having difficulty breathing.

After being taken to hospital, it was found that Yusuf Ali’s oxygen saturation level had fallen. Relatives rushed him to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital only to see that there were no vacant beds in the coronavirus ward.

After several attempts, they got a vacant bed in another ward which was still occupied by the dead body of the previous patient. The dead body was moved and he was shifted to that bed. He was provided with an oxygen mask. But all these efforts went in vain as Yusuf Ali died within just 15 minutes.

This is not the only such case. Many coronavirus patients like Yusuf Ali are coming to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital after their oxygen saturation level has decreased significantly. As a result, many of them need to be treated at the intensive care units (ICU). But the ICU service is limited as compared to the demand. Due to this crisis, the hospital authorities have decided to prioritise severe cases only while admitting patients to the ICU. Therefore the physicians are not getting enough time to treat these patients.

According to the hospital sources, 93 patients at the Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital have died with coronavirus symptoms in the last 12 days. Among them, 56 were identified as coronavirus patients. More than half of the deceased are from Chapainawabganj district.

The medical history of these deceased patients show that most of them died within only four days of being admitted to the hospital. All of them had oxygen deficiency. Talking to the families of at least 15 deceased patients revealed the shortage of oxygen.

Hospital sources said there are 17 ICU beds in the hospital at the moment. However, last Thursday morning the demand for ICU beds was 77.

Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, in-charge of ICU of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, “This time (during the second wave of coronavirus in the country) all the patients require oxygen. Our patient transport system is not up to the mark. For example, a patient oxygen support is to be transferred to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital from a hospital in Chapainawabganj. But due to the lack of oxygen support on the way to hospital, the patient’s hearts and brain get damaged. Although the hospital has adequate oxygen supply, it is not possible to cure the severely ill patients.”

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Chapainawabgnaj’s civil surgeon Zahid Nazrul Chowdhury said earlier, a total of 20 coronavirus patients could be admitted to the Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital. It has increased to 30 since last Wednesday. He said the demand for oxygen has also skyrocketed. If the supply of oxygen is not increased, they would not be able to admit more patients.

Freedom fighter Yusuf Ali lived in the Nayagala village in Chapainawabganj. His son Mohammad Ali said Yusuf Ali was shifted from Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital as they could not arrange any oxygen for him there.

Mohammad Ali said they reached Rajshahi Medical College with his father around 3.00pm on 30 April. They already knew from the medical tests at the previous hospital that his father’s oxygen saturation level had fallen to 78 per cent. On 30 May, he suddenly started having difficulty breathing.

Mohammad Ali further said that the on-duty physician in the emergency unit of the hospital at the time behaved well. It was the physician who told them to look for a vacant bed in ward no. 22 as a patient had died there. However, upon going to that ward they saw the dead body still lying on the bed where his father was about to be shifted. There was no one to move the dead body from there either. They even could not find any relatives of the deceased to seek help in this regard.

Yusuf’s son alleged that although there was a nurse in that ward, instead of helping out, she misbehaved with them. Eventually in the evening they put the body on a trolley and tried to disinfect the bed and shifted his father to that bed. The nurse did not even bother to come with an oxygen mask for his ailing father but a physician came and prescribed some medicines and injections for his father. But they did not have the time to medicate his father. Within just 15 minutes of being provided with oxygen supply, Yusuf Ali died.

Subrata Sharma was only 25 years old. He was a final year student of the zoology department at the Rajshahi College. His mother Purnima Sharma said her son had a sudden fever a few days ago. Later, he was diagnosed with coronavirus. He was taken to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital last Tuesday as his condition deteriorated. Then his physical condition worsened further.

His mother said, “I saw lines of dead bodies moving out of the ICU. My son was admitted there too. He even spoke to me in the early hours of Thursday. But he was having trouble speaking. He died in the morning.”

Harun-ur Rashid, 60, of Nachole in Chapainawabganj had diabetes. He contracted typhoid the day after Eid. His diabetes levels also increased. He was then taken to Rajshahi Diabetic Hospital on the advice of a physician.

Harun’s nephew Abdul Mukit said, "After shifting my uncle to Rajshahi we came to know that his oxygen saturation level has decreased to 65 per cent. He was immediately shifted to Rajshahi Medical College after that. After undergoing treatment there for six days he died on 29 May."

Niamat Ali lived in Kanil village in Niyamatpur upazila in Naogaon. He was admitted to the upazila health complex with a fever. Niamat’s son-in-law Abul Kalam Azad said his father-in-law started having breathing problems around 10.00pm on 28 May. On physicians’ advice, he was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital. There, his oxygen saturation level went below 50 per cent. The physicians suggested transferring him to the ICU. However, there was no vacant bed in the ICU. He died there around 5.30pm that day. His sample test result came positive for coronavirus a day after his death.

* This report, originally published in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten for English edition by Ashish Basu