Emergency services at NITOR suspended after clash between staff, uprising injured

Emergency services at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) were suspended after a clash between injured July Uprising protesters and medical staff on Monday.

The hospital staff halted work at the emergency unit around 11:30am on Monday.

Police took up positions at the main gate of the hospital while army personnel were inside as the medical staff left their stations following the clash.

The ticket counters of the emergency division were also unattended. Some people were able to buy tickets, but no one was able to see the doctors.

Screams of agony could be heard from outside the emergency unit. Hridoy, a man seeking treatment identified by a single name, was involved in an accident in the morning and was not attended to in the emergency.

Md Abbas, who arrived with Hridoy, said: “The patient was left here in this state for two hours. He’s been screaming in pain, but no one is attending him.”

A family from Narsingdi brought their two-year child to the hospital.

A member of the family, Md Yasin, said: “It’s been almost three hours, but there’s no treatment. The child falls asleep crying and wakes up weeping. There’s not a single doctor or staff member in the hospital.”

The hospital was crowded with patients who could not afford to go to another place for treatment.

An injured protester of the Uprising, Md Mamun, said he was wounded in front of Ashulia Police Station on Aug 5 and was admitted to the hospital.

Mamun claimed the hospital was run by a syndicate of brokers.

A group of hospital staff and brokers “attacked” his fellow protesters who had spoken up against the issue while seeking physiotherapy, he said.

No hospital staff could be reached for comment.