Doctors struggle to provide services

Doctors at Mitford Hospital are struggling to provide services to patients as interns continued their strike for the second day yesterday demanding withdrawal of a case filed by Ekushey Television (ETV) against the hospital's director and four interns.   
“In some cases, a doctor was forced to do the jobs of two or three. The strike by the interns has not hampered the service much, but if it continues for long, the situation will become problematic,” Brig Gen Zakir Hasan, director of the hospital, told The Daily Star.
During a visit to the hospital in old Dhaka, The Daily Star found services were not so hampered, but some patients had to wait for a longer period, while others had to return without seeing the doctor at the outdoor.
Jahanara Begum, mother of a nine-month-old girl suffering from boils, who went to the outdoor at 9:30am from Sadarghat, was asked by an outdoor doctor to visit her the next day.
“I sat waiting for three-long hours, and now the doctor is asking me to come tomorrow. It is so painful to hear my child crying from pain,” she said, expressing sheer anger.
Meanwhile, the agitating interns, terming the case false, said until the case is withdrawn, they would continue the strike at the hospital, except for at the emergency, incentive care and coronary care units and the casualty department.
They also brought out a procession on the campus of Sir Salimullah Medical College chanting slogans against “yellow journalism”.
Interns began their strike from 2:30pm on Monday, hours after Zahidul Islam, director of ETV, filed the case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka against the Mitford director and interns -- Shaheen, Shaon, Shoaib and Naim -- on charge of assaulting journalists of the private TV channel.
On Saturday, interns at the hospital allegedly beat up three reporters and three videographers of ETV when they went there to cover news regarding allegations of negligence of doctors.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Mohammad Nasim said stern action would be taken against interns who are on strike at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital and Mitford Hospital.  
He wondered how stick-wielding interns at RMCH could beat up at least 10 journalists on Sunday night.
Nasim said it is shocking how such meritorious students could hold sticks to cause violence.
The minister was addressing a meeting held at the Public Health Institute in the capital yesterday.