Patients suffer at CMCH as intern strike enters 2nd day

The work abstention of intern doctors at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) went into a second day on Thursday. They started with protesting attacks on some of their fellow colleagues and a faction of the medical college unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Patients at the hospital continued to suffer even more on the second day of the strike, said patients who came to the hospital for treatment.

Intern doctors of the hospital have been continuing their strike since Wednesday morning to protest attacks by Chhatra League men.

CMCH sources said there are some 150 intern doctors at the hospital. A faction of these interns continues to abstain from work.  

Intern doctors usually have duties at the hospital's indoor unit, outdoor unit, and emergency unit. Due to their strike, medical services at these units nearly came to a halt, sources said.

Morshed, a patient in ward 37 of the hospital, said patients undergoing treatment at the unit were not getting proper medical care. According to him, ever since the strike was called on Wednesday morning, only one doctor came to their ward and that too only once in the morning. No doctor came to this ward later in the day, and that happened on both Wednesday and Thursday.

However, CMCH director SM Humayun Kabir said the strike did not cause much suffering to patients here. The number of patients at the hospital was less than before due to the pandemic.

He also vowed to take legal action against those involved in the attack.

Dr Osman Gani, president of the CMCH Intern Doctors' Association, said they would not return to their duties until exemplary action was taken against the culprits.

On Tuesday, during a clash between two factions of the CMCH unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, one of the factions attacked the intern doctors, leaving five interns injured.