SZMCH intern doctors continue strike following assault after patient’s death

Patients have been suffering at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital (SZMCH), Bogura since Tuesday night as intern doctors continued their work abstention following an alleged attack on their colleagues by relatives of a patient who died allegedly due to negligence.

At a press conference around 12:00pm today, the intern doctors issued four demands, including the arrest of the attackers. They also said they would continue the strike until their demands were met.

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At the press briefing, the intern doctors said that after a patient undergoing treatment at the hospital died on Tuesday night, the patient's relatives attacked them. The patient had been brought to the hospital in critical condition with severe respiratory distress, and the doctors had done everything possible to save him, they added.

The strike was continuing until the filing of this report around 5:00pm.

Meanwhile, Anawar Hosaain, a ward master at SZMCH, filed a case with Bogura Sadar Police Station over the attack this afternoon, naming seven individuals and eight to 10 unidentified suspects, said Ibrahim Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station.

“So far, six out of the seven named accused have been arrested. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining suspects,” the OC told The Daily Star.

Asked about the patients' suffering, SZMCH Deputy Director Monjur-a-Morshed told The Daily Star at 4:00pm that the duties of senior and mid-level doctors had been increased to alleviate patients' suffering.

Asked about withdrawing the strike, SZMCH intern doctor Ritul Mondal Snigdho told The Daily Star that police had arrested six individuals, but the prime accused, Munir, who allegedly injured doctors with a sharp object, had not been arrested yet.

“Our work abstention will continue until the prime accused is arrested and produced before the court,” he added.

However, sources said at least four local ward-level leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) were among those involved in the attack on the intern doctors.

Bogura District JCD General Secretary MR Hasan Palash said, “We are investigating the matter. If anyone from Chhatra Dal is found involved in the attack on the doctors, organisational action will be taken against them.”

Yesterday evening, a patient named Abdul Malek, 55, from the Rajapur area of Bogura Sadar, who was suffering from respiratory distress, was admitted to the medicine ward. He later died around 10:00pm.

Following his death, the patient's relatives alleged that he died because doctors administered the wrong injection.

The patient’s relatives claimed that when they went to discuss the matter with the doctors, a scuffle broke out. At one stage, intern doctors detained and beat six of the patient's relatives.

However, the hospital authorities denied the allegation of medical negligence.