Patients bear the brunt

Patients in the district are suffering a lot as medicine traders started an indefinite strike without any prior notice after a mobile court fined two traders on Thursday for selling banned medicines.

“Treatment is being hampered for want of medicine,” said Shaheb Ali of Ranirbandar area in Chirirbandar upazila yesterday. His 18-month-old son was admitted to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital on Thursday as he was suffering from diarrhoea. Shaheb searched everywhere but failed to get any medicine as all the shops were closed.

Ferdous Mia, brother of Farhana Begum, 23, said his sister succumbed to her illness on Friday night at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital (DjMCH) just for want of medicine.     

During a visit to different hospitals in the district yesterday, including DjMCH, Dinajpur Diabetes Hospital, Zia Heart Foundation, Orabinda Children Hospital and BNSB Eye Hospital, this correspondent found that most patients had gone to Rangpur for treatment.

“We are referring the patients who had cardiac problems or suffered a stroke to hospitals in other districts,” said a doctor of DjMCH.

Patients of emergency department are also being referred to hospitals in other districts

Acting president of Dinajpur unit of Bangladesh Chemists' and Druggists' Samity Md Anwar Hossain said their strike would continue until their four demands were accepted.

The demands are return of money taken as fine by the mobile court, removal of officials and staff of Dinajpur drug superintendent's office by January 22, list of saleable medicine to be given to the traders by the drug superintendent's office, and stoppage of sale of sample medicines by doctors with legal action taken against the doctors selling such medicines.

Drug Superintendent Rafiqul Islam said a mobile court from Dhaka, along with a Rab team, raided Arman Pharmacy and Mitali Medical Store near Dinajpur General Hospital on Thursday. The mobile court fined the shops Tk 1,00,000 each for selling banned Indian painkillers and date expired medicines.

Deputy Commissioner Mir Khairul Alam yesterday urged the drug traders to open their shops for the sake of the patients, but the shops remained closed as of filing of this report at 4:00pm yesterday.