Special training is being given to 1,600 doctors in 40 districts of the country to prevent errors in the treatment and management of dengue. The day-long training programme, run by specialist professors and doctors of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine, has begun.
State minister for health Dr M A Muhit opened the programme on Tuesday morning at Dhaka Medical College, at an event titled Training of Doctors on Clinical Management of Dengue.
Principals of medical colleges from around the country, civil surgeons and doctors representing hospitals from the grassroots to specialist level joined the event in person and virtually.
Dr M A Muhit said the training had been arranged precisely so that a science-based approach is followed in treating dengue. Doctors are being made proficient according to clinical management standards. Through this it will be possible to prevent deaths caused by treatment errors and to reduce the death rate.
The state minister said 63,627 patients have been admitted to hospital so far this dengue season. Of them, 59,083 have recovered and gone home. About 4,300 are currently under treatment. Despite limited facilities and the pressure of patient numbers, about 99 percent of those infected have recovered through the care of doctors and health workers.
Dr Muhit said an effective health system cannot be built on emotion or unplanned decisions alone. Steps had therefore been taken to tackle the crisis in a coordinated way, by collecting epidemiological data and training doctors through science-based planning.
The state minister also gave importance to doctors’ professional dignity and social protection. He said no sweeping media trial of health workers is acceptable, and that there should be no distance between those who provide care and the public. Reform of the health system must be carried forward with proper respect for doctors, he said.
The event heard that, before the main training, about 350 senior doctors were given trainers’ training on the initiative of the Bangladesh Society of Medicine. Through them, 1,600 doctors are being trained simultaneously across 40 districts of the country.