Dengue patients allege being denied saline despite ample supply at Savar health complex

Despite having a sufficient supply of saline, dengue patients at the 50-bed upazila health complex in Savar alleged that they are not receiving the saline they require from the hospital.

Consequently, relatives of the patients have resorted to purchasing saline from external sources. The scarcity of saline in the market has disrupted the treatment of dengue patients, causing significant distress to their families.

"It's not accurate to claim that everyone isn't receiving saline. Our hospital consistently exceeds its daily patient capacity. When we exceed our 50-bed limit, additional patients in need of treatment are administered saline from external sources," Savar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer, Dr Md Sayemul Huda told The Business Standard.

He said, "It's not feasible to provide everything to everyone, but patients receive most other medications free of cost here. Patient's family members may need to make efforts to procure saline from the market. Rest assured, treatment is never halted due to unavailability. In such cases, we certainly supply saline from our own stock."

Although there is a shortage of DNS saline in the hospital's stock, there is an ample supply of other saline solutions, including normal saline, he said, adding, "The hospital's current stock of saline is approximately 10,000 units."

Several patients admitted to Savar Upazila Health Complex complained that most of them are compelled to purchase saline from external sources, incurring additional expenses for their medical treatment.

Niran Bala Das, wife of a patient named Chandra Kishore, who has been hospitalised for the past four days, told The Business Standard that from the time of her husband's admission to the hospital until Thursday morning, the patient required a total of 7 saline solutions. "Each of these had to be obtained outside the hospital at an increased cost compared to their normal price."

"Saline is in short supply everywhere, and we had to search and acquire it with great difficulty," Niran Bala explained.

Saiful Shaon, brother of another dengue patient named Abdullah Islam Surjya, shared a similar experience.

He said when his brother was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday evening, the doctors informed him that the hospital was facing a shortage of saline and recommended obtaining normal saline from outside.

"After an extensive search, I managed to secure saline for my brother from the Shahibagh area," he added.

When contacted, Dhaka District Civil Surgeon Dr Abul Fazal Md Sahabuddin Khan told The Business Standard, "If there is stock, and a patient needs 3 salines in a day, the hospital is supposed to supply at least one saline to every patient. Even if there is stock, patients should not be denied saline. I am looking into it."