The outdoor service of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) has been closed since Monday morning, prolonging patients' suffering.
After a hospital visit, it was observed that the ticket counter for outpatient services was closed from 9am. Although tickets were briefly sold at 8am, the counter closed soon after.
Later, the chambers for outdoor services were also closed from 11am onwards.
Since morning, patients have been waiting in long lines at the ticket counter. Many of them are children and elderly patients. Due to a lack of available tickets, patients often leave the hospital without receiving medical services.
The intern doctors have announced that they will suspend all services except for emergency care until the safety of the doctors can be ensured.
A young man named Khalil brought his mother, Zainul Begum, from Barguna to this hospital. He said that her leg was broken, but she did not receive treatment, even though she was urgently referred from the local hospital to the SBMCH emergency department.
Imran Hossain brought the seven-day-old baby Rafsan from Jhalokathi sadar, but he did not see any doctor at the outdoor clinic until noon.
During the visit, the correspondent saw over 1,000 people, including children, waiting for treatment in the outdoor section, but no doctor was found.
On the other hand, around 12pm, the hospital Director, HM Saiful Islam, held a meeting with the intern doctors to discuss their demands.
Members of the police and army were also present in the meeting.
Doctors from the Army Medical Core rushed to the spot to calm down the situation by talking with the angry doctors.
After the doctors and interns met with the hospital authority, it was decided to open all other departments except the outdoor unit.
However, the SBMCH director has confirmed that treatment at the emergency and other internal wards remained functioning round the clock on Monday.
The intern doctor, Mashiur Rahman, said: "This hospital has 500 beds, but we treat about 3,000 patients in both the outdoor and indoor areas. Additionally, there are approximately 1,500 to 2,000 patients who remain in the hospital throughout the day. However, there are only 55 security personnel and 3 police guards in this hospital, making it impossible to provide adequate security for the doctors."
He further added: "We want assurances of the protection law with adequate security for the doctors during their working hours. We want justice for all those who were attacked in Dhaka."
Hospital Director Dr Saiful Islam said: “A meeting was held with the angry doctors and interns. The outdoor area is closed for now. We have already increased security. At least 30 policemen have been deployed here. Hopefully, the doctors will call off their strike at the outdoor area.”
