BSMMU Super Specialised Hospital: Outdoor patients happy with long consultation

Highlights

• 14 depts providing outdoor services from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 6pm (every day except Friday)
• Three more months till full-scale opening
• Doctors see not more than 6 patients per hour
• Highest number of patients in orthopedic and gynecology depts
• More than 150 staff, including doctors, nurses, trained from Korea
• 56 experts from Korea providing treatment and training doctors

"I honestly did not imagine the doctor would spend so much time to see me," Narayanganj resident Sanowara Begum, 60, who suffered a brain stroke ten months ago, was sharing her experience seeing a specialist physician at the BSMMU Super Specialized Hospital, the first of its kind in the country.

"To my surprise, really, the doctor kept asking questions. He wanted to know every little detail. After talking to me, he talked with my son. Only then he prescribed tests and medicines before asking my son to see him again with test reports," said Sanowara, who was brought there by her son and daughter at the advice of a local doctor.

Sanwara Begum saw an assistant professor of neuro department with a visit of Tk300.

Another patient Taslima Akhter, who came from Gazipur, expressed similar contentment. She came to see a gynaecologist as she was suffering from haemorrhage 45 days after childbirth.

She saw a professor and had to pay Tk600 for the consultation.

"To speak the truth, we received private-hospital standard services for only Tk600. The doctors took time seeing us," Taslima's sister Nasima Sultana told The Business Standard.

"The hospital is top-notch. The patient care management officers helped a great deal," she said.

She, however, pointed out that the process of buying a ticket for a doctor's consultation is somewhat inconvenient.

"You have to go to the bank after buying a ticket from another place to deposit the money. Then you have to go back to submit the receipt and tell your medical history. Running places back and forth before seeing a doctor is a problem," she explained, adding, "It would be convenient if the process was a little easier."   

The hospital started offering its services from 27 December, some three months after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated it on 14 September.

Currently the hospital is only providing outdoor services by specialist doctors of 14 departments – every day from 10am to 1pm and 3pm to 6pm except for Friday.  

Authorities say it will take another three months for the hospital to begin full-fledged indoor services, including five indoor services.    

"Patients always complain that doctors don't give them time. They dont want to listen. We are trying to change that perception," Brig Gen Abdullah Al Harun, director, Super Specialized Hospital, BSMMU told The Business Standard,

"Our doctors will not see more than 6 patients per hour. A doctor will see the patient for 10-12 minutes. We don't have much publicity yet so people don't know much. Patient pressure will increase in the future, he added.

The 14 departments that have started consultation services are – general paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, chest disease, neurology, nephrology (kidney), urology, cardiology, cardiac surgery (including thoracic surgery), surgical oncology, orthopaedics and trauma, department of hepatology (liver), gastroenterology, hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery.

From the outdoor opening on 27 December to 16 January, a total of 105 patients have availed doctors' consultation, according to hospital sources.   

An average of 85 patients come every day with more rush of patients in the morning shift. Besides, Orthopaedic and Gynecology departments see the highest number of patients. On the contrary patient pressure is less at the hepatobiliary surgery, liver transplant and respiratory medicine departments.

About doctors' reluctance in the initial days, the hospital's Director Brig Gen Abdullah Al Harun said, "Making the decision to work in a new institution is often a dilemma for a lot of people. Many who were confused at first are now willing to work here. Senior doctors of BSMMU are now seeing patients."

Three staffers at the welcome desk at the ground floor of the state-of-the-art hospital provide information to the patients. The ground floor also features the ticket purchase desk and a bank outlet. Outdoor services are being provided from the ground floor to the third floor of the hospital that spans a vast area.

Two patient care managers are always standby in front of the escalator on each floor to guide patients to the chamber of the doctors they are to see.

Apart from the pharmacy, the hospital has three cafeterias which are used by the patients and their relatives.

Management keen to maintain service quality

The director said that emphasis is being placed on training to run the entire operation of the hospital smoothly.

Brig Gen Abdullah Al Harun said that more than 150 staff, including doctors, nurses, administrative staff, accounts staff and even third-class staff, have taken training from Korea.

"We are trying to train staff of every level. Our objective is to provide patients the services they expect from us," he said.

BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Sharfuddin Ahmed told The Business Standard, "We will have 56 experts from Korea. They will provide treatment as well as train the doctors here. We will also send doctors abroad for training."

Professor Dr Sharfuddin Ahmed pointed out that the hospital is not fully operational as some equipment has not yet arrived.

"We hope to be fully operational within the next three months. With the opening of this hospital, we want to provide treatments for all patients in the country so that they do not have to go abroad for treatment," he said, adding, "In future robotic surgery, bone marrow transplant and stem cell therapy will be provided here."

The state-of-the-art specialised hospital has been built at a cost of Tk1,366 crore on 3.4 acres of land to the north of the BSMMU. Of the construction cost, South Korea provided Tk1,047 crore as a loan.

The hospital has 750 beds. There will also be 14 ultra-modern operation theatres, a 100-bed intensive care unit, a 100-bed emergency unit, six VVIP and 22 VIP cabins, and 25 deluxe cabins.

Earlier on 13 September 2018, the prime minister laid the foundation stone of the specialised hospital.