Only tipping can get you trolleys

If you look wealthy or solvent enough to give a tip, there is no dearth of trolley carriers at the emergency unit of the country's premier public hospital. But you'll be in trouble if you are in handcuffs or have an impoverished look written over your face.

When any patient-carrying vehicle stops in front of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital emergency unit, the trolley men first glance at the attires of the patient and his attendants to have an idea about their financial status before offering a trolley.

On Thursday, this correspondent spent about four hours around the DMCH emergency to find out that the trolley men were competing with one another to offer a trolley to a patient who looked affluent. But when those appeared who were in police custody or looked poor, they showed utter negligence.

Akhi faced it when she tried to find a trolley for Al Amin, her ailing elder brother, who is an accused in a murder case.

Al Amin was escorted by police, so none came forward with a trolley sensing they would not get any tip in the presence of law enforcers.

Their negligence forced Akhi to put Al Amin on a trolley with the help of a police constable and carry him to his ward.

“What else can I do if nobody comes forward to carry him?” said a despondent Akhi.  

Al Amin, a patient with a head injury, was returning from the National Institute of Neurosciences Hospital in the city's Agargaon where he was referred for some check-up. He has been admitted to the hospital's neurosurgery ward for about a month and a half.

Although he was not in need of any emergency treatment, he had to be carried on a trolley for his inability to walk.

When police bring any patient to the hospital, he's usually carried by policemen or his attendants, said an Ansar member, who works at the hospital, preferring anonymity.

There are frequent allegations that the hospital's trolley men do not offer patients any service unless they are tipped Tk 100 to Tk 500 or even more. Some of them are hospital staffs and some hired but all of them push the attendants for tips, according to sources. 

The hospital authorities, however, seem unwilling to take any action against them.

SHORTAGE OF TROLLEYS

Around half an hour before Akhi arrived in front of DMCH, one Jewel Rana was seen waiting to carry his brother-in-law Sanwar Hossain to the emergency unit. Sanwar's right leg was broken in an accident in Shariatpur, but there was no trolley left to his utter dismay.

After waiting for around 10 minutes, Jewel pulled Sanwar up in his hands and carried him into the room of emergency medical officer (EMO).

By then, this correspondent saw four more patients limping to the EMO room with help from others for lack of stretchers. 

According to DMCH official record, more than 800 people take treatment everyday at the emergency unit. Of them, around 250 are admitted to different wards.

"At present, there are about 30 trolleys, some of which are unusable, to handle the huge number of patients. Moreover, sometimes it takes over an hour to discharge an admitted patient from a trolley," said a staff of the hospital preferring anonymity. 

"We need at least 30 more trolleys to cater for the patients' needs," he said, adding some unscrupulous trolley men are taking advantage of this scarcity.

There is also a shortage of manpower at the emergency unit. Only 25 hospital staffs and some hired men work as trolley carriers in three shifts, which leave a lot of patients unattended.   

Contacted, Khawja Abdul Gofur, assistant director (Admin) at DMCH, told The Daily Star that they have already taken measures to increase the number of trolleys and also have a plan to increase the number of carriers.

Asked about the tips business by trolley men, he said they are not aware of it but from now on they will monitor it strictly.