Docs to stop work briefly May 14-15

Bangladesh Medical Association has called an hour's ‘work stoppage’ on Wednesday and Thursday in all health facilities to what the national body of the physicians said protest recent attacks on doctors. Secretary General Dr M Iqbal Arslan on Monday said they would also stage a human chain demonstration centrally at Dhaka’s Shahbagh square during the strike between 12pm and 1pm. Emergency services would remain open, he announced at a press briefing on Monday flanked by other executives. He said ‘specialist physicians’ would not see patients for two hours in their private practice on Thursday between 5pm and 7 pm. He said BMA announced this set of protest programmes in the wake of ‘frequent’ attacks on doctors in different parts of Bangladesh. In the latest such incident, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital's (DMCH) doctors were allegedly assaulted by a group of outsiders at Chankharpool, near the hospital, following a clash with Dhaka University students, according to bdnews24.com.