Patients left doctor-less at two hospitals in Ramree Twsp

By DMG 13 Aug 2021

DMG Newsroom
13 August2021, Ramree

Two cottage hospitals in Ramree Township’s Saku and Lay Taung towns currently do not have doctors, posing difficulties for residents seeking medical treatment, locals said.

There has been no doctor at the Saku Kyun cottage hospital since December 2020, and about 5,000 people from eight villages on Saku Island have had to depend on two senior nurses for medical treatment, according to U  Thein Kyaw, the Yay Kaung Chaung village-tract administrator.

“It has been about one year that there has been no doctor at the hospitals. If someone feels sick, they have to go to another area to be provided with medical treatment. So, they have to spend more money. If the weather is bad, some patients die at home as they cannot go to other areas,” he told DMG.

“We’ve presented the need of a doctor at our cottage hospital to the township administrator,” he added.

U Thein Kyaw said residents are worried about their health as there is no doctor at the hospital amid the ongoing third wave of Covid-19.

Water passage from Saku Island to Ramree town takes six hours by motorboat, and it takes four hours to Taungup town, with some emergency patients dying on the way, said U Kyan Win, a village elder at Aung Chan Thar ward.

“If the weather is bad, what we can do is just watch the patient’s situation. We cannot travel during rough weather for such a long journey. So, some patients die without being provided medical treatment. A doctor should be in our area, where there is transportation difficulty,” he said.

The Lay Taung cottage hospital in Ramree Township has not had a doctor for nearly three months, said Ko Maung Maung, a resident of Lay Taung town.

“It has been more than two months that our cottage hospital has not had a doctor. Some people in our ward are infected with Covid-19. Residents have more difficulty with healthcare services as there is no doctor at such a time,” he said.

Residents are demanding that doctors be assigned to the two cottage hospitals.

DMG phoned the Ramree Township administrator regarding the absence of doctors at the two hospitals, but he could not be reached.