Shahana Begum is a resident of Meradia in the capital. Sheikh Hasina brought her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Waiting outdoors. However, due to the high pressure of the patient, he sat the baby girl for a long time. Tiredness on the face.
Rabiul, a 9-year-old child, was sitting outside next to him. With his maternal grandfather Shafiq Mia. They came from the Chittagong Road area of the capital. They also said that they were waiting for the doctor for a long time.
Last Thursday (January 19), Sheikh Hasina visited the outdoor of the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Overcrowded patients all over the outdoors. Children and women are more among them. Doctors and nurses are busy dressing patients. Just running around.
Shafiq Mia, who was sitting outdoors with his grandson, said that his grandson’s leg was burnt in the fire and that he was suffering today because he did not take first aid and applied lime. He told Jago News, ‘My grandson Rabiul went to play in the field with his friends. In the evening, children were lighting a fire in a corner of the field. There he lost his mind and his feet went into the fire. It burns the feet a little. On the advice of the tenant of the neighboring house, lime was applied to his feet. There is an infection in the wound. Later local doctors advised to go to burn institute. That’s why I brought here.’
And Shahana Begum, who came to the burn institute with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, said, ‘I was heating the water in a bucket to bathe the girl. When she went to the kitchen to work, the girl fell into the bucket. His face and different parts of his body were burnt.’
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According to hospital sources, outdoor tickets are given daily from 8 am to 12 pm. 280-300 patients come every day in these four hours. However, 302 patients have arrived till 12:15 on January 19.
The doctors in charge said that the outdoor area is always crowded with patients. However, the number of burn patients increases in winter. Every day, six to seven patients from the outdoors are re-admitted to the hospital. More patients are also admitted if seats are vacant.
According to the information of the hospital, 55 thousand 816 patients were treated at Sheikh Hasina Burn from January 2022 to December 21. Out of this, the number of patients every month from October was more than five thousand. In addition, in 2022, 4 thousand 918 people were admitted to the hospital and received treatment. Among them, the number of admitted patients has not fallen below 450 since October.
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Director of Sheikh Hasina Burn Institute Professor Dr. Md. Abul Kalam told Jago News that naturally, the number of burn patients increases during winter. We have designated beds for burn patients. Even then the beds have been increased. We try to accommodate maximum number of patients. Patients come here from all over the country. It is difficult to handle the situation. But it is not impossible.
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On the question of who is coming for treatment more, he said, ‘The number of burn patients in winter is more women and children. We are trying to provide treatment even though beds have been increased for women and children. For example, in the Male High-Dependency Unit (HDU), we used to keep only male patients, where we have created a separate block to house 10 female patients. HDU for women and children did not have 30 beds, now we have 40 beds.’
Dr. Abul Kalam said, we have started working since 2011. So far we have produced 150 plastic surgeons. We need 200-300 people. Manpower cannot be created at will. Building skilled manpower takes time. As a result, the operation takes some time. But it is not causing much problem.
He also said that 80 percent of patients come from outside Dhaka. But most of them are not getting adequate first aid. There are two reasons for this not happening. One is that there is ignorance among common people including doctors. Lime, toothpaste, eggs are traditionally applied to the burned areas of the patients. They are very harmful. For example, raw eggs contain protein. Where there is protein, there will be infection. Toothpaste contains chemicals, the lime content makes the burn deeper. What could have been fixed in 10 days, it takes a long time to fix. In this case, nothing but water can be used as an immediate treatment. Cold water can be used on the burn. Even if cold water is poured for 40 minutes, the patient will get many benefits.
The director of the burn institute said, now the issue of burn treatment reaching the grass root level is not a matter of one day. Establishing it requires a long-term concerted effort. Now almost every district has a medical college. Burn and plastic surgery units should be started in these hospitals. Many hospitals have also started. If doctors can be given a three-day orientation class in all medical colleges, then they will be able to provide primary care in districts and upazilas. The patient’s pressure will also decrease.
Dr. said that there is no option to stay alert. Abul Kalam also said, burn is not an infection or a tumor. If it can be prevented with resources, then there will be no need to spend billions of resources. We have only one advice to everyone in such a situation, be careful.
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He said, ’60-80 percent of the burn is due to the leakage of the gas stove. The fire is kept burning. But it is no longer extinguished. As a result, an accident occurred. If you are careful about these things, the incidence of burns will be reduced by 60 percent. Lately, electronic burns are becoming more and more common. To prevent this, no electric wire can be kept within four feet of the window of the house. Check whether there is any wire through the roof of the house, tree branches or not. If there is, it should be removed. Another 20 percent of accidents can be avoided if these are followed. It prevents 80 percent of incidents. The remaining 20 percent occurs worldwide. And this can be treated easily. We have that capability.’
AAM/RAD/AAH/GKS
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