Amid an unabated surge in measles cases across the country, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has instructed all government hospitals not to turn away patients, asking to increase bed capacity, if necessary.
Hospitals must not refer patients elsewhere citing bed shortages. It has been instructed by the DGHS.
The instruction signed by the Director of the department (hospitals and clinics), Dr Abu Hossain Md Moinul Ahsan, has asked all government hospitals in the country to immediately implement the directive, announced through a press release sent to the media on Thursday.
According to the directive, patients rushing with measles or measles-like symptoms must not be denied admission, even if no beds are available. Hospitals are instructed to arrange additional beds.
However, patients in critical condition may be referred for advanced care. In such cases, hospitals must follow the designated referral chain-from Upazila Health Complex to District Hospital, Medical College Hospital, and specialized facilities. Failure to follow this protocol will hold the head of the respective hospital accountable, the notice maintained.
The number of measles cases has gone up significantly in recent months, putting an increasing pressure on the country's hospitals. The directive aims to ensure uninterrupted care for affected patients.
Meanwhile, one child has died from confirmed measles infection in the past 24 hours, while four others died with measles-like symptoms.
According to the latest DGHS data released up to 8:00 am Thursday, a total of five children died in the past 24 hours due to the contagious disease and related symptoms. During the same time, 125 new measles cases were confirmed.
A regular measles bulletin reported that since March 15, a total of 39 people have died from measles nationwide, with the highest number-25 deaths-reported in Dhaka Division.
Additionally, 194 people have died with measles-like symptoms, including 90 in Dhaka Division and 66 in Rajshahi Division.
The DGHS also reported that in the past 24 hours, 1,170 people with measles symptoms sought hospital care, of whom 847 were admitted.
Among the admitted, the highest number-355 patients-were hospitalized in Dhaka, while the lowest-seven-were admitted in Rangpur.
Since March 15, a total of 28,334 suspected measles cases have been reported, of which 4,059 have been confirmed.
A nationwide vaccination campaign targeting 18 million children began on April 20. So far, 5,184,753 children across the country's eight divisions have been vaccinated under the programme. In addition, 974,247 children have received vaccines in 12 city corporations.
