Medical technologists: Heroes unsung and ignored

Jummu Das, a medical technologist at the Satkania Upazila Health Complex lab in Chattogram, has been collecting samples from suspected Covid-19 patients since March last year. Every day she has to perform her job – one that involves severe risks – without maintaining any quarantine or isolation.

The 34-year-old has already been infected with the virus once and has had to send her breastfed children to her parents' to keep them safe.

Her family has gone through a lot of harassment due to her job during the pandemic.

But, despite all the setbacks and sacrifices, she is still doing her job with full sincerity.

However, there is one thing that she regrets: the contributions of medical technologists like her in the country in these tough times are not being acknowledged by the authorities.

So far, medical front liners like Jummu Das have not received any kind of incentive from the government.

"I have not received any money other than my salary. Our contribution is not properly evaluated. The health ministry is neglecting us," Jummu Das told The Business Standard.

Many medical technologists are similarly frustrated.

Gautom Endo, a medical technologist (lab) at Sadar Upazila Health Complex in Habiganj district, has been taking extra workloads on himself since the pandemic began. He goes from house to house on a motorcycle to collect samples for testing. The hospital has provided him the motorbike to collect the samples but he has to bear the cost of the fuel.

"We are risking our lives doing our job, but we are not valued. The government is giving two months' basic salaries to health workers. The upazila health officer and the civil surgeon have said our names are not on that list. We later applied to the deputy commissioner for our names to be included in the list of incentives. But no decision has been made yet," Gautom Endo said.

"Being deprived in this way, I am no longer interested in going to work," he added.

The neglected condition of medical technologists is impacting the country's fight against the deadly pandemic.

Dr Jahidur Rahman, assistant professor of virology at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, said, "The number of tests could not be increased due to the shortage of technologists and management crisis. Those who have been working in the PCR labs for more than a year are not getting any kind of incentive, transport facility or even one meal."

Dr Jahid said there is not enough manpower, so some people have to do a lot of work and everyone is tired now. "To increase the number of tests, more technologists have to be hired and those who are working now have to be provided with transportation and food facilities or incentives," he added.

Mohammad Ali Zinnah, a senior technologist at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR), started collecting samples on 15 January last year from suspected patients returning from abroad. In the beginning, he had to go to different districts in the country, such as Cumilla or Sylhet, by bus to collect samples. He still goes from door to door in Dhaka city for sample collection. Besides collecting samples, he also has to do the tests in the lab.

Zinnah said, "So far, 51 lakh samples have been tested in the country. From these tests, 7.36 lakh patients have been identified. Two lakh of them have been admitted to hospital with the help of doctors and nurses. But we have collected and tested samples of 51 lakh people. Doctors and nurses are admired as front liners, but we are not.

"Many of us have tested positive for the virus twice. But there is no incentive for us because we do not provide services at Covid-dedicated hospitals."

The government has already allocated two months' basic salary for health workers at 14 hospitals as special honorarium. Some 1,474 doctors, 406 nurses and 981 health workers will get the honorarium on 1 May. However, one is still unsure how many medical technologists have been included in the list.

Dr Sheikh Mohammad Hasan Imam, director (administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services, said, "The health workers from Covid-dedicated hospitals will only get the incentive. We do not know how many of them are medical technologists. Only those who are directly engaged in the treatment of Covid-19 patients are getting this incentive."

He added, "We know that technologists collect samples and test them but still many of them remain excluded from the incentive. There is a lot of dissatisfaction among them because of this. We have explained the matter to the health ministry.

"The incentive will continue in phases and so there is hope that the technologists may also get it in future. But it is not yet certain."

Selim Mollah, former general secretary of the Bangladesh Medical Technologists Association, said, "Medical technologists are the frontline soldiers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Technologists identify patients after collecting and testing samples, doctors give prescriptions and nurses take care of them. But the health ministry and the health department do not acknowledge the contributions of the technologists.

"We are not evaluated even if we work day after day without food, travel, any kind of leave, any quarantine-isolation facility. I seek the intervention of the prime minister so that our contribution is properly evaluated and we get what we deserve."