Mitford interns continue strike

An indefinite strike called by the intern doctors of Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital entered its third day on Wednesday with the medics demanding the dropping of a case filed by Ekushey Television (ETV).

The interns did not join work and formed a human chain near the hospital building around noon on Wednesday.

They threatened to continue the strike till the case, which they described as ‘false’, was withdrawn.

The interns had struck work on Monday, hours after ETV filed a case against the hospital director and four interns, accusing them of assaulting its reporters and camerapersons.

Intern Shawon Das, an accused in the assault case, told bdnews24.com: “We won’t resume work until the case is withdrawn.”

Besides the interns’ strike, Mitford Hospital authorities decided to file a counter-case against the journalists.

Deputy Director of the hospital Abu Yusuf said: “Today we’ve taken the decision to file a case against the journalists of Ekushey Television on charges of entering the hospital complex without permission and obstructing the doctors from doing their duty. The authorities will lodge the case either today or tomorrow.”

On Saturday, interns at the hospital allegedly beat up ETV reporters and camerapersons when they went there to cover an incident of alleged medical negligence.

The journalists were also detained in the director's room for several hours.

Zahidul Islam, Director of the private TV channel, filed the case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka against Mitford Director Brig Gen Zakir Hasan and interns Shaheen, Shaon, Shoaib and Naim.

Deputy Director of Mitford Hospital Abu Yusuf claimed that patients at the hospital were not suffering, although the intern doctors were on strike.

“Though some 207 interns are on strike, we’ve as many as 254 physicians and about 450 nurses. So, the patients are facing no problem in receiving medical treatment.”

Apart from the interns, the principal, professors and students of Sir Salimullah Medical College, and doctors of the Mitford Hospital took part in the human chain programme.