KHULNA: Khulna Medical College Hospital, the largest healthcare facility in the district, is unable to provide necessary services to people due to various problems, including inadequate manpower and equipment, reports UNB.
The air conditioner which was set up in the operation theater of the hospital has long been out of order and the physicians have to carry out the surgeries keeping the windows open. On the other hand, the digital x-ray machines have remained out of service for the last few days while the operations of ear, nose and throat (ENT) department were closed due to the lack of an assistant registrar.
In some wards of the hospital, there has been a crisis of
electric fans. Besides, the patients have to suffer immensely because of unhygienic toilets of the hospital as some commodes of the hospital remained unfit for use. Of its two hospital lifts, one has remained out of order for long, forcing people to use only one lift. The most horrible part of the hospital is that there is no light in some wards, creating a ghostly situation at night.
During a recent visit to the hospital, this correspondent found that four of the five fans at the Operation Theatre on the 2nd floor of the hospital were inoperative. They have to keep the windows of the operation theatre open, welcoming dust in the OT section.
Dr Sheikh Farid Uddin Ahmed, a junior consultant of anesthesiology department, said conducting surgeries after keeping the windowpanes open is the same to conducting operation on roads. "Though we have informed Public Works Department about it, they've not yet taken any steps in this connection," he said.  Besides, the construction work on the intensive care unit (ICU) department has been stopped for unknown reasons, he said adding that the authorities of the hospitals are using the postoperative ward of the hospital as its ICU.
Patients who were admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) of the hospital have been suffering a lot as the air conditioner there also has long remained out of order.
Meanwhile, the unhygienic toilets of the cabin block at the hospital situated on the 2nd and 3rd floors have become a serious concern to its patients as most of those are unsuitable to use.
The burn and plastic surgery ward of the hospital is situated on the 3rd floor of the hospital and the operation theater of the ward remained inoperative for a long time.
The situation in the gynecology ward is also worrisome as the water taps of the toilets continuously gushes out
water while the flashes of the three toils are damaged. Besides, there is no electric bulb in the orthopedics department of the hospital. Sharmin, whose daughter was admitted to the orthopedic ward, said the electric fan over her daughter's bed is out of order.
During a visit to the surgery wards, situated on the 2nd floor of the hospital, this correspondent found that 10 electric fans have gone out of order in the 1st unit of the ward.
In the children ward, there are six beds. Three of the four electric fans hanging over the ceiling are out of order.
Besides, the Lenoir accelerator machine of the radio therapy department has been kept in polythene covers though Health Minister Mohammad Nasim in a meeting on March 3 assured of installing the machine with the help of army.
Dr Ananda Mohon Saha, caretaker of the hospital, admitted that some electronic machinery have remained dysfunctional due to negligence of the Public Works Department.