Doctors announce nationwide work stoppage on Wednesday

Medical and dental students are to boycott classes and rally at the Central Shaheed Minar

Doctors and medical students have announced a nationwide shutdown of hospital outpatient and inpatient departments, along with evening chambers, on Wednesday to press home their demands.

The emergency medical departments such as ICU and CCU will remain open.

After holding a day-long programme under the banner of “all level of doctors and medical students” on Tuesday, the work stoppage was announced at a press conference at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Nadim Hossain, an intern physician at Dhaka Medical College, announced the new programme with five demands.

In a written statement, he said: “Medical and dental students across the country will observe a class boycott programme on Wednesday.

“Indoor and outdoor services and evening chambers of all government and private hospitals will be closed.

“Activities of ICU, CCU, casualty, and labour room will continue for humanitarian reasons.

“A call has been made for a mass gathering of doctors and medical students at the Central Shaheed Minar [Wednesday].

“Students from Dhaka and beyond will gather at the Central Shaheed Minar at 11am before marching to the health ministry.”

Doctors say one of the many demands of the students of the Medical Assistant Training School, or MATS, is to legalise writing “doctor” before their names.

A petition has been filed in the court regarding this issue, which will be heard on Mar 12.

Medical students across the country are holding protests, including class boycotts, demanding only MBBS and BDS graduates be allowed to use the title “doctor”.

Intern doctors and later postgraduate junior doctors have joined in solidarity.

This unity has been formed under the banner of “all levels of doctors and medical students” with 17 organisations of students, intern doctors and medical professionals.

Under this, students of medical and dental colleges are boycotting classes and interns are holding three-hour work stoppages every day.

MATS students have been protesting for the past few months with various demands. Doctors and medical students are also holding programmes in response.

FIVE KEY DEMANDS OF DOCTORS AND STUDENTS

• Only MBBS and BDS graduates should be allowed to use the title “doctor”. All continuing cases related to law and public health must be settled by Mar 12. There should be no confusing titles such as “diploma doctor”, which is not a title that exists anywhere in the world aside from Bangladesh and is not recognised by the WHO.

• Only MBBS and BDS graduates should be allowed to run a private practice. The government must issue a notice regarding this.

• A committee should be introduced to reform the Medical Assistant Course curriculum in seven working days and all substandard MATS institutions should be shut down through a special drive.

• The government must recruit enough doctors immediately to fill vacant posts in the healthcare sector and extend the age limit for the Bangladesh Civil Services, or BCS, medical recruitment to 34 years.

• A law must be enacted to protect doctors. Also, a specific pay-scale should be introduced for doctors working in the private health sector.