The agitating doctors of public and private hospitals have postponed their wildcat strike for 24 hours till 8:00pm today on assurance that the attackers on them would be arrested within the period.
Dr Abdul Ahad, a resident surgeon of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), announced the strike suspension after a meeting with Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum at the secretariat on Sunday evening.
The doctors went on 'complete shutdown' in protest against Saturday's attacks on their colleagues at DMCH.
In the wake of the work abstention, patients and their attendants faced immense sufferings in hospitals across the country on Sunday.
However, the emergency service will only be provided on condition of ensuring security personnel one for one doctor to run medical service.
The outdoor and routine services of the hospitals will remain closed. The service will continue like this for the next seven days, Dr Ahad added.
If the attackers are not arrested and doctors' safety at workplaces is not ensured, the strike will be resumed, he warned.
Meanwhile, two platoons of the BGB have been deployed to ensure doctors' security in DMCH.
Denouncing the attacks on doctors, the health adviser said that the safety must be ensured. Every effort will be made to protect doctors.
She also said that it would take some time to enact the Doctor's Protection Act.
Meanwhile, a case has been filed with Shahbagh police station in the capital in connection with the attacks on the doctors.
Four persons, including a teacher of Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) Shahriar Arnab, have been known accused in the case. Also, 40 to 50 unknown people have been accused in the case.
Incidentally, a BUBT student died while undergoing treatment in DMCH on Saturday. BUBT students claimed that the doctors were negligent in his death.
Enraged by the incident, the students entered the operation theatre of the hospital and allegedly beat up doctors on Saturday afternoon.
DMCH doctors were attacked and beaten up three times on Saturday night. After that, intern doctors stopped working at night.
As other doctors joined the strike, medical services were suspended in all departments of the hospital from Sunday morning.
Doctors, nurses and other staff of hospitals across the country joined the strike.
During a visit to the DMCH emergency unit, it was found that some patients and their attendants were not allowed to admit to the hospital.
"I don't know where to go. My daughter, Rafa Moni, 4, got serious injuries in her head and leg after she was hit by a bus in Cumilla," said Md Rubel.
"Doctor conducted the initial surgery on Saturday and gave a schedule on Sunday for major surgery. But now they do not respond, my daughter is groaning in pain," Rubel told the FE in a frustrating voice.
Kulsuma, a five-year-old girl of Savar, has had a similar story to tell as doctors were not found in the emergency unit.
Patients, however, said they were getting service who had already been admitted meaning their treatments were continued.
Shuma, who came with her ailing husband to DMCH from Brahmanbaria, told the FE, "We couldn't get food supply inside the hospital canteen."
UNB adds: Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, has condemned the attacks on doctors and called for justice.
In a video message from his verified Facebook account on Sunday, he said, "Safety of my doctor brothers must be ensured, and those who have raised their hands against them must face appropriate justice."
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