Around 500 indoor patients were compelled to remain almost uncared and unattended during the strike period continuing for five days. Even surgeries were stopped, leaving patients in grave situation as the doctors were abstaining from carrying out their duties.

Nearly 300 in-patient department doctors including medical officers and consultants at Birdem enforced the strike on June 25, demanding regularisation of their service following issuance of a letter that said services of the doctors recruited on contract basis would not be renewed any further.

The doctors, however, put off the strike until July 31, following an assurance of meeting their demands by the national council of Bangladesh Diabetic Association.

The Birdem authorities have been recruiting doctors on contract in the indoor section since 1992 and had been renewing their services in three-year cycle. The irked doctors have all the right to wage movements to press for their demand. But they have no right to hold hundreds of patient hostage for meeting their demand.

The Birdem authorities cannot also avoid their responsibility for creating untold suffering to huge number of patients taking a foolhardy decision to terminate services of 300 doctors without any valid reason. It should not happen in an organisation like Birdem, which was founded by Dr. Ibrahim having a vision to provide world class facilities for treatment to the diabetes patients of this poor country.

By all means, the responsibility lies upon the national council of Bangladesh Diabetic Association to find a durable settlement of Birdem. We cannot but say that such an untoward incident is absolutely unacceptable in a specialised hospital that attracts huge number of patients from all across the country.

Nine patients died without treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) on May 17 and 18, as interns enforced indefinite strike after they had clashed with attendants of patients and beat them up severely over accusation of neglect.

According to the media reports, the patient Sima was admitted to RMCH with pneumonia complication and the doctors on duty had been neglectful in treating her. When Sima's condition was deteriorating with profuse bleeding through her nose, her husband Shahabul demanded urgent medical attention for Sima.

At one stage of heated arguments with Sima's attendants, a mob of interns started to beat up Shahabul and his aged mother and mother-in-law. Police later rescued them from the fury of the interns. Meanwhile, Sima had died without treatment and so did at least eight others. We do not know who was made responsible for turning the hospital into a hell-hole that took a toll of nine lives.

The doctors of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) enforced an indefinite strike in the first week of May, placing the treatment ground to a complete halt and compelling the indoor patients to leave the hospital. It was triggered by a clash between the doctors and class four employees of DMCH.

The clash ensued when a gate-keeper stopped some visitors willing to meet a doctor. Hearing that his guests were not allowed to enter, the doctor rushed to the gate and abused the gate-keeper. At one stage of heated arguments, the doctor slapped the gate-keeper. After that the class four employees confined the doctor and beat him up badly. As a result the doctors were abstained from carrying out their duties.

The doctors at Dinajpur Medical College and Hospital also went on an indefinite strike from June 28, following an attack on an intern. According to newspaper reports, a few relatives of a female patient engaged in a scuffle with intern Dipankar, at the time of her admission. A few unidentified persons again attacked Dipankar the next night and beat him up.

A huge number of patients coming from different districts and upazillas had to go back or move to hospitals in Rangpur and Borga as the doctors refused to treat them.

Medical and legal experts in a roundtable on doctors' and patients' rights held on June 23 suggested formulating a comprehensive law to ensure patients' rights and protect doctors from harassment. Stressing the moral responsibility of medical professionals, the speakers said that the doctors should change their attitude towards patients.

The healthcare in Bangladesh is deficient in many ways. Corruption and indiscipline have plagued the public healthcare system on one hand and pathetic health facilities and inefficiency on the other hand have put the health services in a terrible mess. Therefore, there are ample reasons to be concerned over the state of healthcare in the public hospitals.

It is alleged frequently that the doctors in the public hospitals are becoming devoid of values and professional ethics. They are also giving wrong treatment to their patients, sometimes causing deaths. This is why the country has seen alarming growth of private clinics and diagnostic centers over the past several years.

Work abstention by the doctors of the public hospitals has become so frequent that it needs to be forbidden. Leaving the serious patients to die without treatment or holding them hostage for meeting demands by the doctors, tantamount to criminal dereliction.

The Hippocratic Oath that the doctors take traditionally while passing out, has made them bound to serve the ailing humanity regardless of the circumstances. The doctors in our country should remember that their education is also funded by the people whom they are denying treatment.

The doctors also need to be given proper training to strengthen their moral backbone and commitment to patients. The British curricula that are still followed in the country's medical colleges, has been changed several times by the Britain itself to make it need based. But these remain unchanged in Bangladesh.

Ironically indeed, there are as many as 45 laws related to health issues, but not a single one to protect patients' right when doctors deny treatment. Therefore, proper laws should be formulated to ensure patients' rights as well as doctors' protection.

ANM Nurul Haque is a columnist for The Daily Star.