What's happening at nat’l eye hospital

Treatment at a major government-owned eye hospital, the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH), has been suspended since last Wednesday (May 28).The reports are rather sketchy about what exactly happened that led to total work stoppage by doctors, nurses and other staffs of a specialised hospital in the city. Hospitals are meant to provide emergency service, come rain or shine, to people in need of medical service and are not like other organisatios where you have the freedom to stop work at will. But the NIOH seems to be an exception. Sporadic clashes that broke out on Wednesday left some 15 doctors, nurses and other hospital employees wounded, director of the NIOH, Prof. Khair Ahmed Choudhury, reportedly told the media.

According to him, a group of July uprising patients with eye injuries attacked the NIOH staff. So, the hospital staff went on a strike by stopping work since Wednesday demanding enhanced security. But Akhter Hossain, a July protester, reportedly, denied having attacked the hospital staff. On the contrary, he claimed that they were protesting against irregularities at the hospital and, what he said, the authorities' negligence regarding their treatment. And the doctors, nurses and other hospital staffs had not returned to work for the fifth straight day till Sunday (June 1). On Monday (May 26), prior to Wednesday's reported skirmishes at NIOH, four victims of the July uprising allegedly attempted suicide by taking poison during a meeting at the hospital. However, they were later treated at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital. Following that incident on Tuesday (May 27), the July-injured were allegedly engaged in infighting and also kept the NIOH director confined in his office room for one hour and a half. But it all adds to the confusion as to what really went wrong  at the eye hospital since May 28 and before.

Meanwhile, the NIOH director, Prof. Choudhury is learnt to have gone on a week's leave since May 28.

A team from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is reportedly working to end the deadlock and has been requesting people seeking medical service from the NIOH to take treatment from any nearby hospital. This is obviously not an answer to the abnormal situation prevailing at a public hospital. Hundreds of outpatients are being deprived of service. In-patients who were waiting for surgery are worse off as they have to go elsewhere for the critical service. Consider the unacceptable situation the striking medical professionals have created in a specialized public hospital where between 150 and 200 eye surgeries are conducted in a day and some 3000 patients are served including outdoor ones every day. Many of these patients are clueless about what to do after being denied service at the hospital. This is nothing short of anarchy. Whatever had happened at the hospital on May 28 and days before and after in the form of brawls involving hospital staffs and July uprising victims, some 60 to 70 of whom reportedly have been receiving in-patient treatment at the hospital, that should not be enough reason for doctors, nurses and other members of the service staff to abandon the hospital for an indefinite period of time. For a hospital is supposed to work even in wartime. It appears, no one is concerned. As could be gathered, since the reported scrimmage, a large contingent of police, ansars and other members of the law-enforcement agency has been deployed to beef up the security of the hospital. Why the hospital staffs are still not feeling secure to join work? A wait-and-see approach won't do. On the contrary, the government should put its foot down to resolve the crisis at NIOH, address any genuine grievances of the hospital employees including those of the July uprising victims, if any, so the normal work at the eye hospital might resume without delay.

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