Suffering among patients visiting Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) has intensified due to an acute crisis of medicine and medical equipment, compounded by an indefinite work abstention launched by intern doctors. Patients arriving from distant areas and their attendants have been thrown into severe distress.
The hospital’s intern doctors initially enforced a 24-hour work abstention starting from 8am on Wednesday to press for their five-point demand.
Later in the afternoon, they declared an indefinite strike at a press conference held at Charu Mamar Canteen of Rajshahi Medical College. During the briefing, Intern Doctors Society President Dr SM Topu and General Secretary Mushfiqur Rahman highlighted the existing situation at the hospital and outlined their demands.
The intern doctors alleged a severe crisis of necessary medicines and medical equipment in admission wards, alongside an absence of adequate security measures while on duty. They reported facing physical attacks, misbehaviour, and death threats from patients’ relatives. Additionally, female intern doctors highlighted unwanted situations, including plainclothes relatives of patients entering their rooms while they were on duty.
According to the interns, the lack of essential medicine and equipment forces them into difficulties when attempting to provide immediate medical care, leading to misunderstandings with patients’ relatives and heightening security risks for doctors.
Furthermore, structural problems have led to the closure of the hospital’s observation room and casualty department, increasing pressure on admission and emergency wards. As a result, the interns have been struggling to deliver healthcare services with limited manpower and inadequate equipment.
The intern doctors’ five-point demands are:
- Ensuring an adequate supply of medicine and medical equipment in admission wards.
- Guaranteeing security at their workplace.
- Restricting entry to no more than two relatives per patient in the wards.
- Ensuring the active presence of Ansar members in the wards on admission days and subsequent days.
- Immediately reopening the closed observation room and casualty department.
At the press conference, the intern doctors stated that despite repeatedly requesting hospital authorities to resolve these issues, no effective measures were taken. Consequently, they initially embarked on a 24-hour abstention and subsequently decided to continue the strike indefinitely until their demands are met.
Meanwhile, RMCH Spokesperson Dr Sheikh Shamim Ahmed said that three out of the five demands put forward by the intern doctors have been accepted, while the remaining two are under consideration.
He noted that these decisions would come into effect from 1 November. Describing the continuation of the strike as unwanted, Dr Ahmed remarked that the intern doctors might be misinterpreting the situation.
To maintain medical services during the absence of intern doctors, duties have been assigned to other doctors according to an alternative roster, Dr Ahmed said. In response to a query, he added that authorities are investigating whether the interns are being misled by outside entities or if there is any ulterior motive behind the strike.
Replying to another question, he warned that if the matter is not resolved by Saturday, hospital authorities will adopt a strict stance.
While the work abstention has raised widespread concern regarding healthcare operations across the hospital, it could not be confirmed as of 4pm on Wednesday whether any patient death had occurred because of the strike.
