Ailing Obaidul Quader reaches Singapore for advanced heart treatment

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, who is suffering from heart complications, has been flown in to Singapore by an air ambulance for advanced medical care.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 4 March 2019, 09:24 AM
Updated : 4 March 2019, 03:12 PM

The ambulance for Mount Elizabeth Hospital arrived in the island nation at 7:50pm Bangladesh time on Monday, Welfare Officer Al Amin Hossain at the Bangladesh High Commission there told bdnews24.com.

Al Amin could not say anything about the road transport and bridges minister’s condition as the politician was yet to reach the hospital when bdnews24.com spoke to him.

The official later said the minister had been admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit or ICU.

The air ambulance departed Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport at 4:15pm after doctors decided to transfer the Awami League leader.

“We have decided to take him to Singapore. We are making preparations," Awami League Deputy Office Secretary Biplab Barua had said.

The ambulance carrying Quader set off from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University at 3:22pm, accompanied by a security detail.

It took only 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive at the airport's VIP Terminal as the roads had been cleared beforehand.

The minister’s wife Ishratunnesa Quader brought him to the BSMMU in a critical condition early in the morning on Sunday after he fell ill in the wee hours.

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

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

Specialists from the Singapore hospital came on Sunday evening and on consultation with them, the doctors decided to treat him in Dhaka for the time.

On Monday, renowned cardiologist from India Dr Devi Shetty arrived and checked Quader.

Later, the doctors said Quader was stable enough to be transported now. 

BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Kanak Kanti Barua said they also spoke to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina before making the decision on transporting Quader.

Besides Ishratunnesa, BSMMU doctor Abu Naser Rizvi is with Quader. Two doctors, a nurse and a technician of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital also travelled on the air ambulance.