Public Hospitals: Patients Go to the Washroom with a Guard
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A recent visit by Agamir Somoy correspondent to several public hospitals in the capital revealed a deplorable state of the washrooms in the emergency departments. Some do not have doors, while some latches do not work properly. They are not cleaned regularly. Due to the unhygienic conditions, many avoid using them, opting instead to walk long distances or search for washrooms in other departments of the hospital.
National Orthopedic Hospital
"The washrooms are not even fit for use. There are only four washrooms for so many patients. Among them, the door of one room is broken, and the other three are almost always crowded," said Shah Alam, who came from Chandpur to the National Orthopedic Hospital with a leg injury.
"They only clean it when we firmly insist on it," he added.
When the reporter from Agamir Shomoy questioned a person on duty at the hospital's emergency department about the broken door, the response was, "We have informed the authorities about fixing the door. They said it will be repaired very soon."
Monowara Begum, who came with her sick son, said, her son broke his leg after falling from the second floor while working as a painter. He has been in this hospital for nearly two months. Her son cannot go to the washroom alone; someone has to accompany him. In her words, "Sometimes I go, otherwise my daughter-in-law goes. Look at the state of this washroom! It is dirty most of the time. Now, if I slip and fall with my son in this filth, things will get worse. That’s why we don't use this washroom at all."
Monowara is forced to take her son to a distant washroom. She noted, "Taking him to a distant washroom is very difficult for us."
Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital
Although the condition of the emergency department washrooms at Suhrawardy Hospital is relatively better, they are not cleaned regularly. Garbage is piled up right in front of the entrance door, looking weeks old. Water is also found logged underneath the taps.
When a person in charge of the hospital's emergency department was asked about this situation, they gave a similar reply: "We have informed the authorities." They added, "We try our best to keep it clean. But the patients and the people accompanying them mess it up again within a very short time."
Dhaka Medical College Hospital
The scene at the Dhaka Medical College emergency department is even more distressing. Russel, who sustained injuries to his hands and legs in a road accident, lives with his family in Kamrangirchar. His family was waiting with him on a stretcher in front of the X-ray room, but they were not being called in.
During this time, his brother started searching for a washroom. When he asked some security personnel about the location, they informed him that there were no washrooms on the ground floor; they were located on the second floor next to the wards. There was also a public toilet outside the emergency ward. However, since the environment of the upstairs washroom was "poor," they advised using the one outside.
Because the outside toilet was a public restroom, it required payment. Russel's brother hesitated and decided to head to the second floor instead. Upon returning, he described his bitter experience to Agamir Shomoy: "Patients are lying on beds laid out right in front of the stairs leading upstairs. Their relatives are sitting and standing around them, making the walkway extremely narrow. Moving forward, I saw a row of five washrooms. People were standing in front of them holding their breath, waiting with patients for someone to come out. There is no separate arrangement for men and women. One of the five rooms does not even have a door; a white cloth curtain hangs in its place, and even that is barely four feet high."
It was learned that although the remaining four washrooms have doors, not a single one has a functional latch. If someone goes inside, another person has to stand guard in front of the door.
Bangladesh Medical University Hospital
Patients from different corners of the country come to the emergency department of the Medical University Hospital. However, the crowd here is smaller compared to Dhaka Medical. Right next to the counter, there are two washrooms. On the afternoon of May 16, one of the two was found locked. Although the environment was acceptable, only one washroom was functional, putting a strain on the patients.
Shorna Begum, who brought her 15-year-old son suffering from a fever, mentioned that she had seen one washroom locked ever since they arrived. Occasionally, a queue would form in front of the other one, and some people were seen knocking on the door from the outside. Shorna remarked, "In such a renowned hospital, there are only two washrooms in the emergency department, and one of them is locked. If several patients arrive at the same time, they are bound to face immense suffering."
