Dhaka hospital closes its doors to outpatients as health minister attends event inside

The main gates of a government hospital in Dhaka were closed for nearly two hours on Thursday, leaving the outpatients out - all for an event attended by Health Minister Zahid Maleque.

The minister inaugurated the surgery department and operation theatre complex of the Sheikh Russel National Gastro Liver Institute and Hospital at Mohakhali.

Dr Faruque Ahmed, director of the hospital, said they did not order the closure of the gate. He apologised for the sufferings of the patients.

The gates were closed around 11:30am, half an hour before the minister arrived.

The Ansar personnel in charge of security at the hospital barred the patients and their relatives from entering the facility, saying that services were suspended as the doctors were at the minister’s event. The Ansar members asked the patients to wait until after the minister left.

The outpatients and the relatives of the admitted patients waited outside during the whole time.

The gates were opened minister left around 1:30pm after a press conference following the inauguration.

Many of the patients and their relatives expressed anger over the brief closure.

Khorshed Alam, who brought a relative transferred from the Mitford Hospital for treatment, said they had to wait for an hour with a canola on the patient’s hand and a pipe set in his stomach.

Another person waiting there, Alamgir Hossain, said he came out to buy food for his father who was admitted to the hospital. But when he came back with the food, he saw the gates closed.

“They (Ansar members) said everyone will be allowed in once the minister’s programme was over,” he said.

Abdus Salam, the attendant of a patient from Patuakhali, shared the same experience after he came out to buy medicine.

The Ansar members said they received orders from “the office” to keep the gates closed.

“No one was given such orders,” Director Faruque told bdnews24.com.

“It might have happened for a very brief period. Maybe the Ansar members were overenthusiastic. I'm very sorry for what has happened,” he added.

The health minister could not be reached for comment on the incident.