Intern physicians of at least six public medical colleges on Sunday went on work abstention, pressing for demands, including one that said only those holding a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree and Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree be allowed to use the title ‘doctor’.
The strike enforced by the Intern Doctors’ Council caused serious disruption in patient treatment.
Zabir Hossain, president of the Doctors’ Movement for Justice that called the strike, told New Age, ‘Intern doctors of six public medical colleges in Chattogram, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna and Mymensingh have gone on work abstention, while those of the rest of the public medical colleges have boycotted academic activities.’
‘The strike will continue until the demands are met,’ added Zabir who is a postgraduate trainee doctor at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
He said, ‘The students of the Medical Assistants Training Schools, MATS in short, are admitted to the course after completing their Secondary School Certificate and become medical assistants on completion of the MATS course. How can they file a writ petition in the High Court to be recognised as doctors, and how has the hearing been delayed 90 times?’
They also announced a long march from the Central Shaheed Minar to the High Court at 10:00am on February 25, the scheduled hearing date of the writ.
New Age staff correspondents in Chattogram, Sylhet and Rajshahi and its Khulna correspondent reported that the strike caused terrible suffering to the patients in Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital and Khulna Medical College and Hospital.
Several patients who were undergoing treatment at RMCH complained that no intern doctors were seen to give rounds at the wards since Sunday noon.
Sankar K Biswas, in-charge of RMCH emergency department, said that as interns were the lifeblood of a public hospital, they were struggling to provide treatment particularly to the admitted patients.
‘We have 277 intern doctors at RMCH. When all these doctors are absent at work it would indeed be hard to give patients treatment. But our mid-level and senior-level physicians are ensuring that services continue. Emergency surgeries are still going on,’ he added
Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital deputy director Saumitra Das told New Age that the outdoor patients suffered ‘a bit’ due to the strike.
‘However, service of the emergency department continues,’ he said, adding that senior physicians were providing treatment at the inpatient department.
CMCH director Brigadier General Taslim Uddin said, ‘No significant disruptions have been reported. Other doctors are available and we have adjusted shifts to ensure continued medical services.’
KMCH assistant director Md Mizanur Rahman said that they had around 150 intern doctors at the facility, mentioning that disruptions in patient services occurred due to the strike. The situation was being managed by honorary doctors and advanced trainee doctors, he added.
Striking intern physicians’ demands include an immediate halt on the registration process for MATS graduates through the Bangladesh Medical & Dental Council, which started in 2010; updating of the over-the-counter drug list in line with global medical standards and allowing only MBBS and BDS degree holders to prescribe drugs outside the over-the-counter list; recruiting 10,000 doctors immediately to fill all vacant positions; and forming a separate health commission for recruitment at the seventh-grade level.
The demands also included increasing the maximum age limit for government job entry for physicians to 34 years, shutting down all MATS institutions and substandard public and private medical colleges, and implementing a law to protect doctors.
Source: Newage