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Published : 07 Aug 2024, 02:32 AM
The tide of patients injured in the movement against discrimination at Dhaka Medical College Hospital is still persistent.
Most patients thronged the hospital on Monday after the start of the antigovernment movement. Doctors said most of the injured suffered bullet wounds.
More than 700 people crowded the hospital with injuries sustained during clashes at parts of the capital on Monday. Among them, 163 patients were hospitalised.
As many as 13 patients out of 136 were hospitalised on Tuesday.
The premier public hospital received a total of 59 dead bodies in the past two days.
Many injured were taken to the hospital’s emergency department from dawn to noon on Tuesday.
Two rickshaw pullers, Nurul Islam and Aminul Islam came to the hospital’s emergency unit after being injured in a bomb explosion in Dhaka’s Jatrabari area.
The fingers of Nurul’s left hand flew away in the bomb attack, he has been groaning in pain with wounds on many parts of his body.
Sitting by the side of Nurul, Aminul was holding him despite wounds on his own body.
Aminul told bdnew24.com, “Both of us drive three-wheelers. We were having tea at a warehouse around 1pm. A bomb exploded next to us at that time. We suffered burns in the explosion.
Requesting anonymity, an emergency department doctor of the hospital said, “After receiving first aid at different hospitals across the country, many patients rushed to the hospital on Tuesday as they could not make it on Monday.
“New patients are also coming due to attacks and violence at various places today [Aug 6]. I cannot tell the number of people at the hospital in the past two days. Around 90 percent of the patients suffered gunshot wounds. Many people injured after clashes also visited the hospital.”
The emergency unit patients are being sent to surgery, orthopaedic and neurosurgery departments following their admission at the hospital. These patients secure places at Wards 101, 102 and 103.
Many parents were seen taking treatment on hospital floors and balconies due to a shortage of beds during a visit to the hospital’s three wards on Tuesday.
Due to space constraints, a number of new patients were sent to Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. The atmosphere of the wards has become heavy with the screams and cries of the patients.
Hafizur Rahman, a rickshaw puller from Gopalganj, was moaning lying on the floor at Ward 101 at the DMCH.
He told bdnews24.com that he was headed to Gopalganj through Jatrabari from Narayanganj’s Madanpur. He fell in the middle of a clash between police and protesters around 5pm in the Jatrabari area. He was shot in the abdomen at that time.
“The bullet pierced through my body. A group of youths took me to the hospital later. None from my house came to the hospital. I am a poor man, I don’t know what to do or where to go.”
Safayet Islam, another youth from Narayanganj’s Jalkuri area, was hospitalised with bullet wounds on his belly and waist.
His mother Sumona, who gave a single name, said: “We went to visit my paternal house in Jalkuri. Then my son was hit by a bullet in his stomach. The attack caused damage to his chest bones. The doctors couldn’t recover the bullet yet. I don’t know what’s waiting for my son in the future.”
On condition of anonymity, a physician at Ward 102 told bdnews24.com, “The pressure of patients is very high. Two to three patients have to share a bed while patients also occupy floors. Our situation is crucial.”
On Tuesday, the number of hospitalised patients at 25-bed Ward 101 was 57, over 50 of them were shot. Around 36 hospitalised patients among 58 admitted at Ward 102 on Tuesday suffered shooting wounds. Another four patients among six who visited Ward 102 in the morning, sustained bullet injuries.
There were no patients with gunshot wounds at the hospital’s Ward 103 over the past several days. A total of 13 such patients were admitted to the ward from Monday evening to night.
On Tuesday, DMCH Director Brig Gen Md Asaduzzaman said, “More than 1,700 patients have received treatment at the hospital until 8am on Tuesday. Most patients came on Monday amid the unrest. A total of 292 patients are being hospitalised.
“The majority of the injured were students at first at the start of the antigovernment movement but people from different social groups began to emerge afterwards. There were patients with bullet injuries among the injured. Some patients came with injuries on their nose, ears, throat and eyes.
Asaduzzaman said, “More than half of the patients visiting the DMCH as of now were injured by gunshots. The number of such patients is increasing along time.
“The rate of bullet injuries was fewer among those who visited the hospital a few days ago. The number of such patients rose afterwards. The patients with bullet injuries were at great height yesterday [Aug 5]. More than 50 percent of patients are visiting the hospital with bullet injuries.”
59 DEAD BODIES AT DMCH IN 2 DAYS
The toll of dead is increasing abruptly following the violence at different police stations and areas in the capital in the aftermath of the mass uprising for the government’s fall. A total of 38 people died at DMCH on Monday. Many of them were brought dead to the hospital while several others died there.
The hospital received 21 dead bodies from dawn to 5pm on Tuesday.
DMCH police outpost in-charge Md Bachchu Mia told bdnews24.com, “21 new dead bodies have been kept at the hospital’s morgue on Tuesday. The identities of four police personnel and a Bangladesh Border Guard member have been confirmed as of now. The identities of seven others are not confirmed yet.”
Among those who died on Monday, a maximum of 23 bodies came from Jatrabari.
