Eid Road Accidents Spike: 400 injured receive treatment at Nitor

With the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays underway, various roads across the country, including the capital, are mostly empty.

This often causes various vehicles including motorcycles, private cars, and gas-run auto-rickshaws to operate at reckless speeds. As a result, road accidents are increasing, and many are being killed or injured.

From the night before Eid until 3:00 PM on Sunday, approximately 400 patients sought treatment at the emergency department of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) in the capital alone, reports media.

Most of them are victims of motorcycle accidents.
On-site observations at the Nitor emergency department from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Sunday showed injured patients arriving one after another for treatment.

One of the victims were Biplob. His friends took him to the emergency department on a trolley.
Biplob stated that their home is in the Jatrabari area.

After 12 noon, he went out for a ride on a motorcycle with two friends (three riders in total). While traveling on a local road, a CNG suddenly hit them, throwing them off. This caused a serious injury to his right leg below the knee.

Another injured, Manik, said he was going to Gazipur by motorcycle. On the way, a CNG hit him from behind, causing him to fall on the road. This severely damaged his right ankle. After receiving primary treatment at a local hospital, he came to Nitor for advanced care.

Not just these two; many people injured in road accidents from various parts of the country, including the capital, are coming to this hospital for treatment.

Hospital sources say a large portion of the patients coming to the emergency department are victims of road accidents, among which motorcycle accidents are the most frequent. Some have broken hands, some legs, while others are seeking treatment for minor injuries.

Although there are 10 beds in the Nitor emergency department, the patient pressure is very high. In many cases, patients were seen being treated while remaining on stretchers. Three doctors are attending to patients in the emergency department.

Alongside them, 7-8 nurses and support staff are providing continuous service. Several patients were seen waiting for surgery at this time.

An emergency department nurse stated that compared to other days, the number of patients has significantly increased during the day of Eid and the holidays.

Emergency department physician Dr Md Ehsanul Kabir said: “The patient pressure is much higher during the Eid holidays compared to normal days. From midnight on the eve of Eid day [Chand Raat] until 3:00 PM, approximately 400 patients have received treatment. Among them, from 12:00 AM the night before Eid until 12:00 AM last night, 266 people received treatment, 61 of whom are admitted. The rest were released after primary treatment.”

He further added that from 12:00 AM on Eid day until 3:00 PM, 127 patients have received treatment. Among them, 41 have been admitted, and the rest left after receiving primary treatment.

Nitor director Prof Dr Md Abul Kenan said: “Every year during the Eid holidays, road accidents increase, and consequently, patient pressure rises. While there were more three-wheeler accidents last year, motorcycle accidents are being seen more frequently this time.”

He also mentioned that to manage the situation, 18 doctors are performing duties in each shift, and additional manpower has been kept ready if needed.

Meanwhile, Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost, said that every day many injured people come to the hospital for treatment due to road accidents and other causes.

On Eid day alone, 151 people received treatment at the DMCH emergency department, most of whom were injured in road accidents.