Staff Reporter :
Sudden work abstention by the intern physicians of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) caused acute sufferings to the patients on Tuesday.
They began the strike on Tuesday morning following assault on a physician by the relatives of a patient on Sunday.
It was however postponed later after the intern Doctors’ Association President Mostafizur Rahman Mostaq announced it at about 2:30pm.
Mostaq said that the movement will continue until their safety is ensured.
He said “The programme has been postponed temporarily. The next course of action will be announced later.”
Earlier, the Cardiac Dept Head Abdul Wadud Chowdhury, DMC Vice-Principal Shafiqul Islam Chowdhury and Teachers’ Association President Professor Abu Yusuf Fakir had a meeting with the interns.
The interns started demonstration on Tuesday morning demanding safety, investigation into the Sunday’s incident and to ensure that no visitor shall be allowed without visitor cards in the hospital.
Their movement began following a brawl between the relatives and the physicians over the death of a patient named Nawshad from nearby Lalbagh in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the hospital on Sunday.
After the death, 10 to 12 persons, relatives of Nawshad stormed into the hospital, vandalised the CCU and began to beat the on-duty doctors, the interns said.
Among them, Dr Shamim’s right hand was broken in the attack.
The interns said that they took the steps after 24 hours of the incident as no satisfactory step was taken by the authority.
The interns stopped their duties around 9:00am yesterday that led to intense suffering of patients.
Meanwhile, dozens of patients were seen waiting outside of the DMCH gate anxiously to visit doctors.
Among those, Khairunnesa, a 70 years old woman, became senseless.
Sheuly, the daughter of the old said that her mother was suffering form kidney diseases.
“She was suffering from acute pain in her kidneys. We came in the morning, but they closed the gate of the hospital. We requested them utmost to open the door for a moment for a seriously sick old woman patient, but their heart did not move to pity. My mother become senseless at last,” Sheuly said.
Not only Khairunnesa, many more patients went there from different districts and suffered.
One of them Abdul Matin, an injured old patient from Bandor Upazila of Narayanganj, left the hospital gate without getting treatment for hours.
