Health services at Mitford Hospital, one of the most crowded hospitals at Old part of the capital, remained stalled for the third consecutive days on Thursday, causing severe sufferings to hundreds of patients. The students of the Salimullah Medical College are yet to leave hostels although the authority closed the college and asked them to vacant it by 7:00am.
Medical services, especially emergency services, outdoor, surgery, operation theaters and pathology, have been disrupted because of the work abstention of Class III and IV employees.
Hundreds of patients are suffering being deprived of treatment and medical facilities for the past three days.
A press release of Directorate General of Health Services in the evening said all the stockholders had reached an agreement and medical services would resume soon.
However, Firoz Al Mamun, a storekeeper of the hospital, told New Age that they were yet to join work and services at the hospital were yet suspended as students did not vacate hostels.
Services at the hospital have remained stopped since early Tuesday when at least 20 people were injured in a series of clashes between the interns, students and staff over some medical tests.
The clash erupted when a pathology technician issued an HIV report instead of hepatitis C virus to an intern.
The interns stopped working, causing immense sufferings to the patients undergoing treatment in the hospital, sources said.
Later on Wednesday the authorities closed the medical college for an indefinite period to avert the situation and resume services.
The college authorities held several meetings with no positive outcome.
The college principal, Dilip Kumar Dhar, told New Age that some of the students left hostels and some others were yet to leave.
He, however, could not say when and how the medical services would be resumed and hostels would be vacated.
Meanwhile, many patients have already left the hospital as they are not getting treatment.
Talking to some of the patients and their relatives, New Age found lower presence of doctors than other days.
‘They came to the hospital in the morning only to give primary dressing and treatment and then left the hospital for the rest of the day. We even cannot get them in emergency situation,’ said a patient.
Father of a nine-month child Abul Kalam Azad told New Age that doctors advised him to leave the hospital in such situation.
He said that many of the patients were also asked to leave the hospital.
Some of the students have told New Age that they would not leave the hostels as the decision was imposed on them. They wanted punishment of the culprits who assaulted inters and students.
Mitford Hospital Employees Union general secretary Jahangir Hossain said that they would not join work until the students vacated hostels.
Mahbubul Alam, acting director of Mitford Hospital, told New Age that they were trying to resume the operation of medical.
But as both sides of staff and students remained stubborn in their stance, it was becoming difficult.
He, however, was optimistic that the medical service would be resumed soon, but could not tell when.
-With New Age input
