Patients suffer as docs go on strike
Our Correspondent, Chittagong
All healthcare services except for emergency cases came to a halt at Chittagong Maa Shishu O General Hospital in city's Agrabad area as the medical officers on contract at the hospital went on an indefinite strike yesterday. The sudden strike caused immense sufferings to a large number of patients at the 250-bed hospital and many of them, admitted at different wards like gynaecology and paediatrics, were seen leaving the hospital. All the 50 medical officers out of 80 doctors enforced the strike demanding regularisation of their jobs, implementation of complete service rule and reformation of the executive committee by including representatives of the doctors, staffs and nurses. They staged a sit-in in front of the hospital gate yesterday morning. Dr Parijat Palit, a medical officer, told The Daily Star that the hospital authorities recruited medical officers on a two-year contract but sometimes they renewed the contract only for another year. Once the extended contract expires, the doctors automatically lose their jobs. "It is so unfortunate that after working for three years a medical officer lose his job without any valid reason," he said. Earlier, in the month of June, the medical officers waged a movement to press home the aforesaid demands. Following this an agreement was reached by the doctors and the authorities where the latter agreed to consider the demands. But Dr ASM Fazlul Karim, executive committee (EC) president of the hospital, disagreed and unilaterally cancelled the agreement. He told journalists that their (medical officers) demand is irrational since they were recruited as per the service rule of the hospital.
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