Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) have announced an indefinite "complete shutdown" nationwide, demanding workplace security and the arrest of those responsible for the attack on their fellow physicians.

Dr Abdul Ahad, Resident Surgeon of the DMCH Neurosurgery Department, made the announcement during a press conference at the hospital on Sunday.

Surgeon Abdul Ahad said, "Our work abstention will continue, not just at Dhaka Medical College but across the country, leading to a complete shutdown."

Addressing the media, Dr Abdul Ahad said, "As you know, several isolated incidents have occurred since Saturday. Among them, three of our doctors were beaten and dragged from the Neurosurgery Department to the director's room in the administrative block. While discussing this issue, outsiders entered the hospital and hacked someone to death. Later, they vandalised the One-Stop Emergency Centre (OSEC).”

“If such incidents continue to happen, where is our security, and how can we provide medical services to patients? We have treated the injured from the anti-discrimination student movement. But how can we offer treatment where our safety is at risk?" he added.

Dr Ahad further said that the culprits must be punished without delay and called for the army to be deployed in all upazila and district hospitals, as well as the recruitment of health police under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

BDST: 1500 HRS, SEP 1, 2024
MSK