Surges in dengue hospitalisations in many public and private hospitals in the capital are affecting treatment for patients with other diseases, especially those who are surgery patients.

Hospital officials said that they were instructed to give priority on dengue and emergency patients this time while they were compelled to postpone the schedules of non-dengue patients.

Amid the reality, Bangladesh recorded 12 more dengue deaths and 2,711 hospitalisations in the past 24 hours till Wednesday at 8:00am.

With the latest figure, 57,127 people were hospitalised with dengue and 273 patients died of the viral disease since January.

In the past two days of August, 5,295 people were hospitalised and 22 died due to dengue, said the Directorate General of Health Services in a press release on Wednesday.

Montu Miah, 60, said that he had travelled a long way for treatment at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka from his home at Kazipara in Sirajganj on Wednesday for a surgery in his abdomen as per his schedule given a month ago by the hospital.

‘I am not getting any schedule as all are busy with dengue patients,’ he said, while waiting at the corridor of the hospital, adding that he is now in a fix as to what to do.

His son-in-law was trying to manage an opportunity for him if possible, he said at about 3:30pm on Wednesday.

Holding Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI and Computerised Tomography Scan popularly known as CT Scan reports Rokiya Begum, suffering from brain disease hailed from Barishal, was waiting for her daughter who was trying to get her admitted to the SSMCH.

‘I went to the hospital yesterday as well for admission but to no avail,’ she said.

She said that the hospital officials informed her that they were busy with dengue patients.

Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital director Md Khalilur Rahman said that there were no chances to conduct any surgery without admission but the 1,350-bed hospital was dealing with roughly 1,500 patients.

The hospital’s dedicated 250 beds for dengue patients without extending facilities or physicians were providing services to 264 patients with dengue on Wednesday, said the hospital officials.

Dengue has created a heavy burden on hospitals to provide services and they are almost always under pressure to treat general patients who were now deprived of getting treatment.

However, the hospital director claimed that they were not refusing any emergency patients whether it was dengue or other disease.

Non-dengue patients at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the largest 2,600-bed hospital of the country, Mugda Medical College Hospital and even in some private hospitals are being denied treatment amid the rising number of dengue patients being admitted there.

DMCH officials said that they were giving treatment to over 350 dengue patients though they have dedicated 250 beds for the mosquito borne viral disease patients.

‘The additional patients have made a crowd in the hospital but we are not denying anyone,’ said DMCH director Brigadier General Md Nazmul Haque.

Non-government organisation employee Md Maruf Hossain went to IBN Sina Specialised Hospital as his wife was suffering from gynaecological disease.

‘My wife was kept in labour observation room for two days as the hospital could not provide me with any cabin even after repeated requests,’ he said.

The hospital authority informed him that due to dengue patients they were running out of hospital beds.