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Patients suffer as doctors go on strike
FROM PAGE 12
on June 15 over an alleged mistake that led to the deaths of Mahbuba Rahman Akhi, 25, and her newborn at the capital’s Central Hospital on June 10.
Mahbuba’s husband Yakub Ali Sumon filed the case with Dhanmondi Police Station and also filed a complaint with Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council.
Due to the strike, doctors did not provide the patients with any consultation services.
Although the outpatient services at some diagnostic centers in Dhaka were continuing, our correspondents from Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Cox’s Bazar, and Shariatpur reported that these services were suspended in those districts.
While visiting 10 private hospitals and diagnostic centers in Dhaka’s Green Road area yesterday afternoon, it was seen that most of them had a lighter patient rush. However, people who came to the hospitals were seen struggling to get services.
On the other hand, patients from facilities with their doctors on strike went to the public hospitals for treatment.
Sources at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute and Dhaka Medical College Hospital, which are already struggling to accommodate dengue victims, saw a huge rush of new patients, adding to pressure on them.
Suruz Matubbor brought his severely ill wife to a neurologist at Dhaka’s LabAid Hospital from Madaripur yesterday.
With no doctor available at the outpatient department, he asked people at the Healthcare Desk if there was any alternative option.
“My wife is severely ill. But they [the hospital authorities] said there will be no doctor even tomorrow. I don’t know where to take her,” he told The Daily Star.
Sabbir Ahmed, who brought his father for a brain stroke follow-up, meanwhile, said that his father’s blood was collected for a test that was earlier advised by a doctor. “So we didn’t face any problem.”
Chowdhury Meher-E-Khuda (Dip), Public Relations Officer of LabAid Group, said, “We have our own salaried doctors for diagnostic services. So, we were able to continue those. But doctors at the private chambers suspended their consultation services at the outpatient department.”
Indoor hospital operations, however, continued as usual, he said.
The situations were similar at the nearby Central Hospital, Green Life Hospital, Comfort Diagnostic Center, and SIBL Diagnostic Center.
Meanwhile, our Rajshahi correspondent reported that the strike has mounted pressure on the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
RMCH Director Brig Gen FM Shamim Ahmed said the pressure was mainly on the pathology department, where they had to hire seven staffers on an adhoc basis to manage the issue.
Aklima Begum, who took her pregnant daughter to Rajshahi from Kushtia, said, “I don’t know what I should do now. Transport expenses are high. I can’t afford another visit this week”.
Our Mymensingh correspondent reported that many patients were suffering due to the strike.
Mujibur came to Chevron Clinical Laboratory, a private clinic in Cox’s Bazar town, to see a heart specialist for his 80-year-old grandfather.
But he had to return home as the doctor, along with others, were on strike.
Our correspondents from Shariatpur, Dinajpur, Narayanganj and Tangail also reported a similar situation.

Be careful
FROM PAGE 12
statements made by BNP about the Awami League.
The recent media hype about a report on imbalanced power deals made by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division featured in the discussion. The PM said that it will be investigated who are the vested quarters and the media who want to harm the government, the sources said.
The planning ministry’s evaluation department, the IMED, released a report on May 25, stating that the power sector was developed on a “model of looting”.
After media ran reports, the IMED silently changed its stance, dropping four pages from the report that criticised the power sector business models.
A state minister lamented that files are rarely passed on to him and are approved without his knowledge.
In response, the premier rebuked him and said if he keeps going to office in the afternoon, and shows up to work only twice a week, this is inevitable, the sources added.
She instructed the ministers to give up such habits and run their ministries with leadership.