Mahbubul, who brought him to the hospital from Satkania some 35km off the city, looked so helpless since his repeated entreaties to get his fellow worker carried to a doctor's room fell on deaf ears of the ward boys or other staffs.

Two ward boys sitting on a bench and taking tea advised Mahbubul to wait until one of the six trolleys or three wheel chairs returned from different wards.

Finding no other options, Mahbubul took Noor on his lap with an exhausting effort and headed inside. Noor developed fractures in the legs when he slipped from a rooftop during a construction work at Satkania. The fractures were detected in X-ray Noor got done from outside the hospital later.

This is the picture of the emergency department of CMCH, the lone government hospital for the people of greater Chittagong division, on Thursday.

Noor and his friend had more to see before they could reach the on-duty doctor at the emergency.

Mahbubul had to rush for a ticket laying Noor on the floor for making an entry when a brother intercepted them.

At last they had a call from the on-duty doctor who advised Noor for admission at the orthopedics department.

Having no preparation for getting admitted, Noor requested for a bandage, which was not available at the emergency.

When asked about the plight of Noor, Emergency Medical Officer (EMO) Dr Ajoy, also incharge of the department, said all kinds of patients turn up at the emergency for treatment. “We are here only to examine the state or sort of disease or problem the patients come up with and refer them to different wards accordingly, he said.

Emergency patients such as critically injured and poisoned or burnt ones are advised for admission while the general patients are sent to different outdoors, he said.

"But, we are to do something more such as primary or immediate treatment in several cases," the EMO said.

But the patients said the eight-room emergency department lacks in apparatus essential for diagnosis and the staffs often misbehaved with them.

Sharif, a third year student of Chittagong Medical College, said he had to suffer due to non-availability of trolley when he brought his uncle for treatment at the emergency a month ago.

The poor patients very often get ill treatment here by the staffs and officials, he said.

Six trolleys and three wooden wheelchairs are not sufficient for the patients turn up at the department everyday. Besides, all of them are also not in a good shape, said the patients.

Tahmina Khatun, relative of a patient, said patients mostly suffer due to the cumbersome procedures one has to go through at the emergency department before treatment or admission to the hospital.

"The staffs hardly help the patients with information about the procedures. They rather behave very rudely with them, even with the serious ones sometimes," she said.

Saber, one of the 30 ward boys at the emergency department, said they frequently come across patients with grievous injuries.

"We are not moved so much as it should be as the unpleasant sights leave some bad impact on us and make us act a bit less politely," he said.

Kafil Uddin Chowdhury, an internee doctor, said the department should be equipped with machines required for immediate X-ray, ultrasonogram, identification of blood sugar and Electronic Cardiographs (ECG).

"The emergency department of such a large government hospital should have such facilities when even a modern ambulance has," he said.

Dr Ajoy said such facilities are a crying need for the department.

He said with the existing facilities, three doctors in three shifts put on sincere efforts to render medical service to over 500 patients at the department everyday.

He, however, said the department has sufficient medicines, including anti-biotic and pain killers for instant treatment.