The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has issued a special field-level directive to tackle the flood situation and ensure emergency healthcare in affected areas. On Saturday (July 11), a letter signed by the director of the DGHS Hospital and Clinic branch, Abu Hossain Md. Moinul Ahsan, was sent to all divisional health directors, civil surgeons and upazila health officers.
The decisions were taken at a virtual meeting on the night of July 10 chaired by the DGHS Director General, Professor Dr. Probhat Chandra Biswas, which adopted seven special measures – including canceling the leave of officials and staff if necessary to maintain uninterrupted medical services in flood-affected areas.
Under the decisions, focal persons are to be appointed at all flood-hit upazila, district and divisional levels to coordinate round the clock with control rooms and the DGHS, and their mobile numbers are to be provided to the relevant agencies and individuals. Adequate medical teams are to be formed in all affected upazilas and districts to ensure emergency care for flood-hit people, and the media is to be kept regularly informed of the response through news conferences or press releases – with an emergency news conference on flood-victim healthcare directed for July 12.
The directive said adequate stocks and supplies of necessary medicines, oral rehydration salts (ORS), saline and water-purification tablets must be ensured in all flood-hit upazilas, and that sufficient anti-snake venom be stored in all affected upazilas for snakebite patients, arranged in coordination with neighboring health facilities if needed.
Measures are also to be taken to protect the health of pregnant women and children, including transferring expectant mothers to hospital under government arrangements if necessary and coordinating with the family planning department. The presence of doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers in flood-hit upazilas and districts is to be ensured, with leave to be canceled if required.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report