Power disruption cripples services at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital

Doctors and nurses at Barishal’s Sher-e-bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) are finding it hard to provide treatment to patients due to power disruption.

Doctors and nurses at Barishal’s Sher-e-bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) are finding it hard to provide treatment to patients as electricity supply remained snapped in five units of the hospital for the last couple of days. 

Surgery ward no 3 and 4 of G-block(male), surgery ward no 1 of A Block(male) and I block(Eye) have been without electricity for the last three days, while the radiology department has been facing power cuts for the last 18 days.

Naimul Islam, relative of a patient, said that they can’t even go to the washroom at night due to lack of electricity. 

“We don’t get proper treatment at the hospital. Still, we’ve to come here as we don’t have any other place to go. The hospital doesn’t even have electricity. I don’t know how the hospital is running without monitoring,” said Arafat Hossain Shaon, relative of another patient.

Wishing to be anonymous, a nurse of the hospital said that they can’t provide injections to the patients properly due to darkness at night.

“We’re currently doing our work with the help of candles and charger lights. The hospital authority is building a gate spending crores of taka, which is unnecessary. The money should’ve been spent on fixing the electrical cables and ensuring constant supply of electricity through generators,” said the nurse.

The nurse added that instead of building a gate, emphasis should be given on how to provide treatment to the patients more effectively.

Dr HM Saiful Islam, director of the hospital, didn’t respond to the calls made by UNB to collect information about the electricity crisis.

“The surgery wards and the radiology department don’t have electricity at this moment. Although founded in 1968, electricity lines of the hospital were never repaired. I think dilapidated electrical cables are the reason why power outage is happening at the hospital,” said Dr Moniruzzaman Shahin, assistant director (Administration) of SBMCH.