Patients suffer at DMCH because doctors stay away from work

Patients at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) are facing significant hardship as doctors and staff stay away from work and medical services are suspended in several departments, including the emergency room and outpatient clinics.

The abstention followed the attack on three doctors by fellow students of a private university student who died on Saturday (31 August).

The junior doctors then issued a 24-hour ultimatum, demanding that the attackers be identified and punished, and threatening to close the hospital if their demands were not met. The senior doctors also pledged their support to the junior doctors.

However, the work stoppage began before the 24-hour period had expired. Although the doctors initially reported to work in the morning, they gradually left the hospital over the course of the day.

By 8:30 a.m., the doctors had closed their rooms in the emergency room, and according to witnesses, the emergency room desk was also closed.

Patients gathered outside the hospital hoping to receive treatment. With no doctors available, most patients were forced to leave the premises and seek help elsewhere.

Inspector Md Bachchu Miah, police station in-charge at DMCH, confirmed that medical services in the emergency room and other departments were suspended from 8:45 am, causing immense suffering to patients who needed urgent care.

The incident that triggered the stoppage occurred on Saturday afternoon when doctors were attacked in the operating theatre of DMCH after a student from a private university died. Some of the student's fellow students accused the doctors of neglecting their duties, leading to a violent altercation in which three doctors – Imran, Mashrafe and Zubair, all from the neurosurgery department – were injured.

Dr. Imran, one of the injured doctors, reported that after the BUBT (Bangladesh University of Business and Technology) student died during treatment, his colleagues forcibly entered the operating room and attacked the doctors.

The attack continued from the neurosurgery department to the hospital director's office. Dr. Imran asked the hospital administration to ensure the safety of doctors, improve the working environment and arrest those responsible based on CCTV footage within 24 hours. He warned that the doctors would go on strike if their demands were not met.

Professor Shafiqul Islam, head of the neurosurgery department, condemned the attack as a “shameful incident”. He said that discussions had taken place with the hospital director, doctors, the rector of BUBT and students.

A committee of inquiry will be set up to investigate the incident and those responsible will be asked to file a complaint within 24 hours and ensure their arrest. Professor Islam also warned that if no action is taken, the doctors will go on an indefinite strike.

The hospital director, Brigadier General Asaduzzaman, described the incident as “very sad” and assured the doctors that their safety was his responsibility.

He announced that the military would be deployed to secure the emergency room and that an investigative committee would be set up to review the surveillance camera footage and take action against those responsible.