Doctors have announced the closure of services in all types of medical centres across Bangladesh, with a four-point demand, including that the attackers must be arrested, tried and ensure a safe workplace.
They call this program a complete shutdown.
This announcement was made in front of the administrative block of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) around 2pm on Sunday.
The announcement was made by Dr Abdul Ahad, a resident surgeon of the neurosurgery department at DMCH, on behalf of doctors, nurses, and ward boys.
Dr Abdul Ahad said that the medical services at all medical college hospitals, district hospitals, upazila health complexes, and thana health complexes across the country would be included in this program.
An incident involving vandalism and assault on doctors occurred in the emergency department of DMCH on Saturday night.
Following this, medical services in the emergency department were suspended this morning due to security concerns. After discussions among all doctors, the hospital management failed to resolve the issue, leading to doctors calling for a nationwide strike.
The four demands are:
- Identify and arrest within 24 hours those involved in the deplorable incidents at healthcare facilities and subject them to swift justice under expedited legal processes.
- Ensure a safe workplace immediately by establishing armed health police security at all health facilities.
- To ensure the provision of safe healthcare, restrict entry to hospitals to only patients' visitors holding visitor cards, enforced by health police.
- Any negligence or inconsistency in patient care should be reported to the appropriate authorities for disciplinary action, ensuring punishment, but individuals should not take the law into their own hands.
