The intern doctors of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital have called for an indefinite strike to protest the vandalism in the medicine ward, attacking intern doctors, and harassment of nurses by relatives of a patient who died while undergoing treatment there.
The Intern Doctors' Council of the hospital called for an indefinite strike on Monday night to protest the incident.
The relatives of the patient vandalized Medicine Ward No 35 after 7pm on Monday evening and beat on-duty intern doctors of the hospital, they alleged.
Immediately after this incident, the intern doctors of the hospital called for an indefinite strike which is now disrupting the medical services of the hospital.
Assistant Director (Administration) Dr Abul Kalam Azad of the hospital said that after receiving the news of the unpleasant incident, the Director of the hospital Brigadier General Mahbubul Haque Bhuiyan, visited the scene and spoke to the intern doctors.
He assured that the issue will be resolved soon through discussion.
According to hospital sources, a patient died while undergoing treatment in Ward No 35 of the hospital on Monday afternoon. The relatives of the patient locked into an altercation with the doctors and nurses of the hospital.
The intern doctors complained that the patient's relatives harassed the intern doctors and nurses on duty in the ward.
Meanwhile, the doctors ran to the next ward to protect themselves.
Then the patient's relatives vandalized the doctor's room and the nurse's room inside the ward.
Dr Md Moskakim, an intern doctor in-charge of the hospital, said that such incidents happen often.
The patient's relatives cannot accept the death. They attacked doctors and ransacked hospitals. He commented that it is not possible to perform duties in such insecurity.
Meanwhile, the Intern Doctors' Council of the hospital held a meeting at night to protest the incident and called for an indefinite strike.
In a statement signed by Intern Doctors' Council President Md Rakib Hossain and General Secretary Seema Majumder, the council said the relatives of the deceased patients constantly tried to intimidate, threaten and physically harass the on-duty intern doctors.
“They then vandalized the hospital. This incident proves that there is no healthy working environment for doctors in the hospital. In this situation, an indefinite strike has been called at Osmani Medical College Hospital demanding adequate security for the intern doctors of the hospital and justice for the culprits,” the statement reads.
Relatives of the deceased patient could not be reached for comment on allegations of harassment and vandalism.
