Jessore General Hospital overwhelmed as winter illnesses surge, over 600 patients in 250 beds

Cases of diarrhoea, pneumonia and breathing problems have risen in Jashore as the weather changes, with children and the elderly affected the most. Jessore General Hospital is struggling to cope with the patient load. More than 600 patients are admitted in the 250-bed hospital, and many are being treated on floors, verandas and corridors because there are no beds free.

According to the Civil Surgeon's office, 20,725 people in the district have been treated for diarrhoea from January this year to 8 November.

In the last 24 hours, 37 people suffering from the disease were treated at the eight upazila health complexes in the district. No diarrhoea death was reported during this period.

In the same 24 hours, 85 diarrhoea patients were admitted to Jessore General Hospital, while more than 50 others received treatment at its outpatient department.

The hospital's diarrhoea ward has only six beds, against which 85 patients are under treatment. The extra patients have had to be accommodated beyond the ward's veranda, even on the veranda below the administrative building.

Senior staff nurse Fatema Khatun said the surge in patients has also put pressure on the supply of medicines, and some medicines have to be bought from outside.

The situation is the same in the children's and newborn wards. More than 125 children are under treatment against 24 beds in the children's ward, while the ward's in-charge, Jesmin Khatun, puts the number of admitted children at 157. In the newborn unit, 26 babies are being treated against 10 beds. Many children are being treated lying on the floor for want of a bed.

According to hospital statistics, 455 patients were admitted or received primary and emergency treatment for weather-related illness in the last 24 hours.

On Sunday (8 November), from 9am to 2:30pm, 192 children received treatment in rooms 113 and 114 of the children's outpatient department. In the same period, 25 men were treated at the male outpatient department and 52 women at the female outpatient department. During the same hours, 186 people were admitted with cold-related problems, including 157 children, 18 men and 11 women.

Habiba Siddika Foara, the hospital's residential medical officer, said the number of patients is rising because of the sudden change in weather and the fluctuation in temperature.

Abu Hayder Moniruzzaman, assistant professor of medicine, said infections of rotavirus, norovirus and adenovirus may increase at the start of winter, and these viruses can cause diarrhoea. Child specialist Abdus Samad said dry weather and dust can increase infections of RSV, influenza virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which are causing bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children.

They advised keeping children away from dust, dressing them in weather-appropriate clothes, and giving them plenty of fluids and nutritious food. They urged parents to consult a doctor quickly if a child has breathing difficulty, a sinking chest or a very high fever.

Dr Husain Shafayat, the hospital's superintendent, said the patient load has multiplied several times with the change in weather, and the hospital is trying to provide the best possible service with limited beds and manpower. He said the supply of medicines and medical supplies is being monitored round the clock, and advised against giving children any medicine without a doctor's advice.

Civil Surgeon Dr Masud Rana said the number of patients suffering from diarrhoea, viral fever, pneumonia, breathing difficulty and asthma is rising at the start of winter, but it is not possible to say for certain which virus is spreading the infection without tests.