Assessed by Singapore doctors, improving Quader to be treated in Dhaka for now

Doctors have decided to treat Obaidul Quader in Bangladesh for now following assessments by specialists from Singapore as his condition has improved.

Specialists from Mount Elizabeth Hospital flew into Dhaka on Sunday evening by an air ambulance which was supposed to take the Awami League general secretary to Singapore if his condition permitted.

They saw Quader at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University or BSMMU. 

BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Kanak Kanti Barua briefed the media about the doctors’ decision after consulting the Singapore specialists.

“His condition has improved a lot since the morning and afternoon. He can now open his eyes and try to answer questions. He nodded yes when he was asked whether he wanted to have water,” Prof Barua said.

His urination has also normalised after problems in the afternoon, according to the doctor. “Blood pressure in stable,” he said. 

“As his condition continues to improve, we have decided after discussions with the team from Singapore that he will be here for now,” Prof Barua said.

“Decisions will be taken later based on his condition,” he added.

Awami League Deputy Office Secretary Biplob Barua said party chief Sheikh Hasina also spoke to the doctors about Quader’s condition.

Sheikh Fazlul Karim, a member of the party’s presidium, said they were not entertaining the idea of moving Quader now as it would take four hours to take him to Singapore but the air ambulance does not have sufficient intensive care facilities.

The doctors from Singapore will be in Dhaka until Monday morning, he said. 

The road transport and bridges minister fell ill in the wee hours.

His wife Ishratunnesa Quader brought him to the hospital early in the morning.

He has three arterial blocks and one of those has been removed by stenting, according to BSMMU Cardiology Department Prof Syed Ali Ahsan, who is leading a board overseeing his care.

As his condition was unstable, the doctors could not say when it would be safe to move him for better treatment abroad.  

The 67-year old suffered a cardiac arrest at 3am, Prof Ahsan said.

“It was 8am when we got the call. His ECG was under way at the time. No significant change was found in the test, but his heart was slowing and he was facing breathing problems.

“Then we understood that he had suffered a cardiac arrest,” the doctor said.     

He was put on ventilation and the arterial blocks were found in the angiogram, he added.

Earlier, Professor Asit Baran Adhikary, a heart surgeon at BSMMU, said, “He is steadily improving, but is not out of danger.”

“He is haemodynamically stable. He has opened his eyes and spoken as well. But I would say he is still in critical stage. He is moving his legs, trying to talk,” Prof Ahsan said.

President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Hasina, and Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury have visited the MP from Noakhali at the hospital.