Mitford interns go on strike

A female patient leaving Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital in Dhaka as the authorities do not admit her due to the ongoing strike. Photo: Palash Khan

Medical services at Mitford Hospital have come to a halt after interns went on work abstention today demanding withdrawal of a suspension order against their fellow on charges of assaulting a nurse yesterday.

Terming the nurses’ allegation 'not fully true', the interns enforced the strike in the morning, said the agitating interns.

The interns' move to observe the work abstention came after the nurses withdrew their demonstration programme getting assurance from the hospital authorities.

Yesterday, the nurses declared work abstention from 8:00am to 1:00pm for three days from today to press home their demand for arrest of the intern and cancellation of his registration.

Patients at the hospital have been suffering immensely due to the strike.

According to the witnesses, intern Rakibul Islam Sujon yesterday asked Bokul Rani Das, a senior staff nurse, to give intravenous saline to a patient, but Bokul said she would do it after finishing what she had been doing at the time.

The intern then verbally abused her leading to an altercation between them. At one stage, Rakibul dragged Bokul to another room and beat her mercilessly.

The hospital authorities later suspended the intern temporarily in face of demonstration by the nurses.

Rakibul today claimed that he was not given any opportunity for self-defence before taking decision against him.

Jarina Khatun, convener of Nurse Sangram Parishad, said they have withdrawn their strike following the assurance of authorities concerned.

They will go for fresh programme if their demands including the arrest of the intern were not meet by Thursday, she told The Daily Star.