Thousands of patients and their relatives endured severe hardship on Sunday as a doctors’ strike at public and private hospitals across the country brought the health service to a halt.
With medical personnel abstaining from work following a series of attacks on them, hospitals struggled to provide even the most basic services. Patients, many in critical condition, were left unattended, with emergency departments locked and outpatient services suspended.
Later on the day, physicians partially postponed their “complete shutdown” for 24 hours after the Health and Family Welfare Adviser assured them that all individuals involved in the attacks would be arrested and their other demands addressed.
Health Adviser Nurjhan Begum announced the decision in the evening following a meeting with doctors, interns, nurses, and medical staff at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
DMCH Director Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman subsequently announced that the doctors had decided to call off their strike.
“Doctors will return to work immediately. They will first resume emergency services. Later, all staff will return to work in other departments,” he said.
Our correspondent observed that the physicians at DMCH began providing medical care at 8:30pm in the presence of Army and BGB personnel, but services in most other departments, except the ICU and HDU, had not yet resumed by the time of this report at 9:30pm.
