The Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh has announced to close private chambers and surgeries on July 17–18 countrywide in protest against the arrest of two Dhaka Central Hospital doctors.
The OGSB announced the programme at a meeting held at Bangladesh Medical Association president Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin’s office on Saturday protesting the arrest of physicians Shahzadi Mustarshida Sultana and Muna Saha.
Several other physician professional bodies, including the Society of Surgeons of Bangladesh, expressed solidarity with the protest programme.
The Society of Surgeons of Bangladesh on Saturday also issued a statement signed by its president, ABM Khurshid Alam, also the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, expressing solidarity with the protest programme.
As part of the protest, doctors formed human chains in every medical college, district, upazila, and private hospitals in the country from 12:00pm to 1:00pm on Sunday.
Around 500 doctors and employees of the Central Hospital also held a human chain demanding the release of the arrested doctors, according to a press release issued by the hospital.
The release said that it was sad to see doctors in prison before being proven guilty.
They also demanded the immediate opening of the hospital’s Operation Theatre and Intensive Care Unit.
The OGSB will decide about further movement at a meeting with the Bangladesh Medical Association on July 18, according to a release signed by the OGSB president, Farhana Dewan, and general secretary Salma Rauf, on Saturday.
BMA president Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin told New Age that the physicians remained in jail for long days for just allegations.
‘From humanitarian grounds, we demand their release and justice,’ he said.
OGSB former president Sameena Chowdhury said that physicians always try to save lives, but if there are any casualties, that pains them equally.
‘The arrest of two doctors panicked other doctors and made them feel insecure,’ she said, demanding justice for the detained doctors and legal protection for other doctors.
Former BMA president Rashid-e-Mahbub said that the government should take immediate measures to resolve the issue.
Mahbuba Rahman Akhi died on June 18 at a Dhaka hospital, days after suffering alleged wrong treatment and negligence at the Central Hospital.
Akhi, hoping to deliver her baby normally, was under gynaecologist Sangjukta Saha’s treatment at the hospital.
On June 10, Akhi’s condition deteriorated after she gave birth to the child through a C-section at the Central Hospital, allegedly due to the doctor’s negligence, and she was shifted to the Labaid Specialised Hospital, where she died after seven days.
Her newborn died during delivery on June 10 at Central Hospital.
On June 15, two Central Hospital doctors – Shahjadi and Muna – landed in jail in a case filed by Yakub Ali Sumon, husband of Akhi, against six identified individuals and several other unidentified people.
However, Sangjukta’s name was not mentioned in the case.
On June 16, the DGHS suspended all operation theatre activities at Central Hospital as its intensive care unit and emergency services were found dissatisfactory and barred Sangjukta from providing specialised services at the hospital.
On June 18, the health ministry formed a five-member committee led by additional secretary of the health services department Hossain Ali Khondoker, to probe the allegations.
The case statement said that though Sangjukta was not present at the hospital at the time, the hospital authorities allegedly bluffed the patient’s family, saying that she was in the hospital and Akhi could be admitted for normal delivery under her supervision.
On June 20, Sangjukta, in a press conference, blamed the Central Hospital for the deaths and said that the hospital authorities made a false statement about her presence at the time of Akhi’s operation.
Sangjukta, in another press conference held on June 24, said that she used to be paid between Tk 22,000 and Tk 30,000, and the hospital took Tk 70,000 for a normal child delivery.
A statement from the Central Hospital on July 2 stated that her claims were false, confusing, and motivated.
Denying Sangjukta’s claim that Akhi was not her patient, the hospital authorities said that Sangjukta was informed about Akhi’s admission to the hospital, and she instructed her on-call doctors regarding the treatment before leaving for Dubai at 1:40am on June 10.
It also said that Sangjukta gave strict instructions to admit patients in her absence, and patients had been admitted in her absence earlier as well, and consultants selected by Sangjukta provided treatment.
The statement further stated that Sangjukta had on-call doctors to attend to her patients, and the hospital doctors followed Sangjukta and her team’s instructions.
Amid the controversy over the deaths, Sangjukta filed on June 23 for renewal of her registration with the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council.
