Rajshahi Correspondent

Due to strike of interns doctors, there has been a complaint of death of a patient due to diarrhea in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH).

The strike called by Postgraduate Private Trainee Doctor Association and intern doctors is also going on in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for four-point demands including increase in allowances and ensuring safety at workplace.

Due to this, medical services are being disrupted in this large hospital of North Bengal for four days. After completing MBBS, 210 interns are doing internship as doctors in RMCH Hospital. Apart from this, about 60 other doctors who have not entered government jobs after completing MBBS are doing FCPS and MDMS courses. All of them are on strike since last Sunday. However, the authorities claim that even if there are no intern doctors, other doctors have kept the medical conditions of the hospital normal by performing additional duties.

But in reality it is proving the opposite. A patient named Mahmudul Islam died of diarrhea at 10.30 am on Wednesday. He came to this hospital from Pabna for advanced treatment and was admitted in ward no. 17. He was kept on the balcony floor as he could not find room inside the ward. The mother of the deceased, Nurunnahar, told the media that she came to the hospital with her child around 10.30 pm on Tuesday. There was no doctor at that time. Her son died shortly after doctors arrived at 10.30am on Wednesday.

The mother of the deceased alleged that no doctor treated her child even after 12 hours passed after being admitted to the hospital. Similarly, Roksana Begum, daughter-in-law of Momtaz Uddin of Rahimapur village of Mohanpur upazila said that her father-in-law had a stroke.

RMCH was brought to the hospital around 11.30 pm on Tuesday, but no doctor was found till 11.30 pm on Wednesday. Two patients died beside them just because of lack of timely treatment. Lipi Rani, a relative of another patient admitted in ward number 20, said that her patient should undergo dialysis. But due to RMCH's bad condition, a patient died from their side only for lack of doctor.

Brigadier General AFM Shamim Ahmed, Director of RMCH Hospital, said, the allegation of death of patient without a doctor is not correct. RMCH mid level doctors are working day and night. This hospital is very big, you have to go to the patient and give time for treatment. As of Tuesday morning, there were 2,498 patients against 1,200 beds.

790 new patients were admitted on this day. Out of which 34 people died. The patient recovery rate in this hospital is 98 percent. 30 to 40 deaths per day are normal with an average of less than 2 percent.