Higher allowance

Patients suffer as intern doctors skip work

Patients visiting medical college hospitals across the country are suffering immensely as intern doctors are abstaining from work demanding an allowance of Tk 25,000 from the existing Tk. 9,000.
Patients and their relatives alleged that doctors no longer visit them in the morning. They said the number of regular doctors is always less than the number of interns. They added that it is quite difficult for regular doctors to provide treatment to patients if junior doctors are not around.   
But the agitated interns and officials concerned of medical college hospitals denied the allegation. They said services to patients are not being hampered during their programme, as regular doctors are on duty.
A total of 145 interns of Dinajpur Medical College, which has 500 seats but over 1,000 patients, are abstaining from work. Rehana Begum, who was admitted to the gynaecology ward, alleged that she fell sick but no doctors came for a long time. “We don’t know why junior doctors are no longer looking after the patients. We needed treatment and we did not get it in time,” said Hossain Ali, husband of Rehana.  
However, Amir Ali, deputy director of Dinajpur Medical College, denied the allegation, saying treatment was not hampered during the programme.

Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College has 145 intern doctors and 100 regular doctors, serving over 1,000 patients. Patients said when the interns refrained from work for three hours, they did not get proper healthcare services.
Brig. Gen. Dr Mostafa Kamal Pasha, director of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, however, said healthcare services were not hampered.  
A similar situation prevailed in other medical colleges of Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna districts.
In Barisal, at least 180 interns of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) refrained from work for three hours. There are about 150 regular doctors to serve patients at the hospital. But the patients said they suffered immensely during the programme.
The interns also staged a demonstration in front of the emergency room of SBMCH. The agitated doctors said the government has sanctioned Tk. 10,000 per month as allowance for an intern in 2009, but it was a meagre amount to lead a decent life, they said.
They said they have been compelled to launch the programme as the authorities concerned were not responding to their demands. They threatened to go for a tougher programme if the government failed to fulfil their demands within the next 15 days. They also took out a procession on the SBMCH compound.
In Rajshahi, about 200 junior doctors of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital observed a sit-in and work abstention programme yesterday. Hundreds of patients did not get proper services during that time.
In Chittagong, interns of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) issued a 15-day ultimatum to the government to hike their allowance. The Intern Doctors’ Association at CMCH also formed a human chain yesterday.

 

Higher allowance

Patients suffer as intern doctors skip work

Patients visiting medical college hospitals across the country are suffering immensely as intern doctors are abstaining from work demanding an allowance of Tk 25,000 from the existing Tk. 9,000. Patients and their relatives alleged that doctors no longer visit them in the morning. They said the number of regular doctors is always less than the number of interns. They added that it is quite difficult for regular doctors to provide treatment to patients if junior doctors are not around. But the agitated interns and officials concerned of medical college hospitals denied the allegation. They said services to patients are not being hampered during their programme, as regular doctors are on duty. A total of 145 interns of Dinajpur Medical College, which has 500 seats but over 1,000 patients, are abstaining from work. Rehana Begum, who was admitted to the gynaecology ward, alleged that she fell sick but no doctors came for a long time. We dont know why junior doctors are no longer looking after the patients. We needed treatment and we did not get it in time, said Hossain Ali, husband of Rehana. However, Amir Ali, deputy director of Dinajpur Medical College, denied the allegation, saying treatment was not hampered during the programme. Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College has 145 intern doctors and 100 regular doctors, serving over 1,000 patients. Patients said when the interns refrained from work for three hours, they did not get proper healthcare services. Brig. Gen. Dr Mostafa Kamal Pasha, director of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, however, said healthcare services were not hampered. A similar situation prevailed in other medical colleges of Barisal, Rajshahi and Khulna districts. In Barisal, at least 180 interns of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) refrained from work for three hours. There are about 150 regular doctors to serve patients at the hospital. But the patients said they suffered immensely during the programme. The interns also staged a demonstration in front of the emergency room of SBMCH. The agitated doctors said the government has sanctioned Tk. 10,000 per month as allowance for an intern in 2009, but it was a meagre amount to lead a decent life, they said. They said they have been compelled to launch the programme as the authorities concerned were not responding to their demands. They threatened to go for a tougher programme if the government failed to fulfil their demands within the next 15 days. They also took out a procession on the SBMCH compound. In Rajshahi, about 200 junior doctors of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital observed a sit-in and work abstention programme yesterday. Hundreds of patients did not get proper services during that time. In Chittagong, interns of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) issued a 15-day ultimatum to the government to hike their allowance. The Intern Doctors Association at CMCH also formed a human chain yesterday.