Why this shortage of manpower?

Although the emergency department of the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital (SSMCH) was recently modernised with modern medical instruments that basically upgraded the clinical pathology, radiology and imaging departments, authorities have failed to recruit requisite manpower to man the machines. The end result is that the 250 or so emergency patients who arrive at the hospital fail to get their tests done there and are forced to cough up extra money to get them done in private diagnostic clinics elsewhere in the city. This is hardly what is expected of a major public hospital and despite the media coverage of the issue for the past many-months, nothing much has been done to resolve the issue.

A report in this paper has found the situation to be quite dire in the hospital. Patients have complained that there is no one to attend to their needs during the night. Indeed, we understand that there are only six staff members manning the radiology and imaging departments, and that too during morning and afternoon shifts. With only one person designated to cover the night shift, precisely what sort of service are patients expected to get here if they have an emergency?

The continued apathy of hospital authorities and indeed the ministry is unacceptable. With some 2,500 patients visiting SSMCH daily (and a tenth of those in critical condition), precisely what excuse is there for not recruiting the necessary manpower to man the newly purchased machines? It is not as though we have a shortage of doctors and technicians in the country; rather it is a lack of planning for human resources that is to blame. We can only hope that relevant authorities will take steps to address the shortfall in personnel so that public health needs are met.