The Doctors’ Movement for Justice has announced that it will join the ongoing work stoppage and the boycott of academic activities by interns and students from Saturday.
The interns and students, mostly from public medical colleges, have been on strike since February 23, seeking the reservation the title ‘doctor’ exclusively for the holders of MBBS or BDS degrees.
The Doctors’ Movement for Justice in a release on Friday announced the fresh programme, saying that neither the health ministry nor the Directorate General of Health Services has took taken any visible steps regarding their demand.
Students of Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital will gather at the Central Shaeed Minar in Dhaka at 11:00am on Saturday.
In separate statements, they announced to continue with their strike.
Sakib Hossain, an intern at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, on Friday said that they would continue with the strike until Saturday, adding that next programmes would be announced that day.
The protesters on February 25 announced the continuation of the programme until Thursday in both public and private hospitals after the High Court that day had posted for March 12 the delivery of its verdict on two writ petitions filed by a Medical Assistant Training School graduate, challenging the legality of the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act 2010 and a related circular issued in 2013.
Patients at several medical colleges and hospitals, including Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital, Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Chittagong Medical College Hospital, and Khulna Medical College Hospital, complained of not receiving proper treatment because of the strike.
The authorities, who acknowledged the disruption, claimed that they were managing the situation by deploying post-graduate doctors, resident physicians and senior doctors, noting that the doctors were working extra hours.
The other demands of the interns include an early end to the registration process for MATS graduates through the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council, the closure of all training schools and substandard medical colleges, an update to the over-the-counter drug list in line with global medical standards and allowing the holders of only MBBS and BDS degrees to prescribe drugs outside the over-the-counter list.