Protesting interns and students of public medical colleges and hospitals on Tuesday said that they would continue their work abstention programme along with boycotting the academic activities for the next 48 hours till Thursday late night, pressing for a number of demands.
One of their major demands is reserving the right to use the title 鈥榙octor鈥� only for the holders of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, in short MBBS, degree and Bachelor of Dental Surgery, in short BDS, degree.
The public medical college hospitals鈥� interns are staging work abstention programme at a time when the High Court bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Shathika Hossain has set March 12 for giving its verdict on two writ petitions filed by a graduate of Medical Assistant Training Schools, challenging the legality of the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act, 2010, and a subsequent circular issued in 2013.
One petition contests the BMDC Act that restricts the use of the title 鈥榙octor鈥� to individuals holding MBBS or dental college degree.
The other writ has challenged the legality of the 2013 BMDC circular criminalising the use of 鈥榙octor鈥� as a designation by individuals without an MBBS or BDS degree.
During the hearing, attorney general Md Asaduzzaman argued that the government treated MBBS and BDS degree holders equally while maintaining a distinction between them and individuals with other medical qualifications.
On Tuesday, students and interns of several public medical colleges and hospitals held a protest rally at 10:00am and marched from Central Shaheed Minar before taking position in front of the High Court.
鈥楢long with the 48-hour work abstention and suspension of academic activities until February 27, protesters will stage a sit-in in front of the Directorate General of Health Services at 11:00am on Wednesday (today)鈥�, said Zabir Hossain, president of the Doctors鈥� Movement for Justice, which is actively involved in the movement.聽
鈥榃e are not happy. This case has been ongoing for 14 years, and there is no need to take 15 more days for the verdict,鈥� said Zabir.聽
Since February 23, interns at several public medical college hospitals, including those in Chattogram, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna and Mymensingh cities, have been observing work abstention, while students of all public medical colleges have boycotted academic activities, pressing for their demands.
Patients at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Chittagong Medical College Hospital, and Khulna Medical College Hospital complained of not receiving proper treatment due to the strike.
While acknowledging the disruption, the authorities of these hospitals claimed they were managing the situation by deploying postgraduate doctors, resident physicians and senior doctors who were working extra hours to maintain patient services.聽聽聽聽聽聽
Striking intern physicians鈥� demands include an immediate halt on the registration process for MATS graduates through the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council, which started in 2010; shutting down all MATS institutions and substandard public and private medical colleges; updating of the over-the-counter drug list in line with global medical standards and allowing only MBBS and BDS degree holders to prescribe drugs outside the over-the-counter list; and implementing a law to protect doctors.
