Patients suffer across country

Patients across the country suffered a lot yesterday as doctors refrained from work at private healthcare facilities protesting vandalism at a city hospital and a case filed against nine doctors following the death of a Dhaka University student.

Children and elderly people suffered the most as they braved the sweltering heat to go to different hospitals but had to return home without seeing any doctor. They expressed utter frustration and anger over the situation.

On Thursday afternoon, more than one hundred DU students vandalised several rooms and equipment of Central Hospital following the death of Afia Jahan Chaity, 20, a first-year student of zoology department, there. Students claimed that she was given wrong treatment.

DU Proctor AM Amzad Ali filed a case with Dhanmondi Police Station accusing eight doctors and a director of the hospital the same day.

In protest, Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) yesterday refrained from seeing patients at private healthcare facilities.

The Daily Star correspondents visited at least 30 hospitals in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur and Dinajpur and talked to more than 50 patients.

Khaleda Sheuli, who was suffering from high fever and body aches, said she visited four hospitals in the capital but failed to see any doctor.

“I think I have got chikungunya. I wanted to see a doctor at LabAid. But I did not get him. I went to LabAid, Greenlife, Samorita and SIBL Foundation Hospitals. All the hospitals said no doctor would see any patient today [yesterday],” she said.

Saidur Rahman, 63, and his wife who was suffering from high fever went to Comfort Diagnostic Centre on Green Road.

 The Daily Star correspondents met the elderly couple at the hospital. They strongly criticised doctors for the move.

“It seems doctors are following the ways of transport workers to realise their demands... They have no right to hold us hostage. We don't expect it from them,” said an utterly frustrated Saidur.

Shamiul Islam, 69, went all the way from Koyra to Khulna city, some 80 kilometres apart, with his wife Monira Begum. She was having severe chest pain. But they had to return home without seeing any doctor.

 At another clinic in Khulna's Tootpara area, Ismail Sheikh was seen waiting with his grandson Saddam, 6, who had been suffering from severe abdominal pain for the last few days.

“We came here from Pirojpur's Mothbaria on Sunday. We had seven diagnostic tests done. The reports were supposed to be delivered on Monday. But I haven't got those yet,” the grieving man said.

He then went to talk to the doctor at Good Health Clinic to know what he should do, but failed to enter the clinic.

Ismail has no relatives in Khulna city. They stayed in a hotel on Sunday and Monday. “I requested the clinic authorities to allow us to take some rest on the hospital compound but they refused us.”

“I don't know how we will go home. I am running out of money. Moreover, we are already tired due to the ongoing heat,” he said.

Talking to this newspaper, several doctors claimed they stayed away from work to “show respect to our colleagues who were wrongly implicated in the case filed by the DU authorities and to abide by the BMA's decision”.

Contacted, BMA Secretary General Prof Ehteshamul Huq Choudhury claimed that they did not hold any patient or hospital hostage. “If someone claims that patients are held hostage, the statement is not correct. Rather I will say that some criminals and mass media have held doctors hostage.”

“It's absolutely up to me whether I will do private practice or not,” he said, claiming that some media published reports that the DU student died of wrong treatment.

Ehteshamul said they did not want the case against the doctors be withdrawn. “We want justice. If we are found guilty, we'll be punished. If we are not guilty, then those people, particularly some criminals and mass media, should be punished and this is our demand.”

The BMA Secretary General said doctors were being made victims time and again. “There should be an end to it.”

Our Khulna correspondent also contributed to the report.