Director of Barishal’s Sher-e Bangla Medical resigns amid interns’ protests

Barishal’s Sher-e Bangla Medical College Hospital Director Saiful Islam today resigned following a strike enforced yesterday by the intern doctors.
The interns went on the work abstention yesterday afternoon for 24 hours to press home their demands including security of the doctors and resignation of the hospital director, our Barishal correspondent reports.
Touhidul Islam Jahin, an intern doctor, said, “Now we will discuss and take a decision to call off the strike, and it will take some more time. Due to absence of the intern doctors, the patients have suffered immeasurably.”
According to the hospital authorities, yesterday evening, an eight-year-old child named Junayed died of various diseases including pneumonia. The child was admitted to the hospital’s children ward on September 24.
When the child died, his relatives abused and assaulted the doctors and nurses, he said. Protesting the incident, the interns started the strike from 12:00pm yesterday and at one stage demanded resignation of the hospital director, he added.
The ward master Abul Kalam filed a case last night.
Yesterday morning, the hospital authorities held a meeting with the interns to discuss the issue. Apart from the director, army officers, Barishal city police officers and a representative of the district administration were in the meeting.
Intern Moshiur Rahman said that they submitted their four-point demand including the arrest of criminals by today, and heavy presence of Ansar members in the hospital.