Doctors suspend ‍‍`shutdown‍‍` until 8pm on September 2 following health adviser’s assurance

The interim government‍‍`s Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum has assured the arrest of those involved in the attack on doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) within the next 24 hours.

She gave this assurance during a briefing at the DMCH administrative building on Sunday afternoon.

Following the adviser‍‍`s assurance, doctors have called off their planned shutdown until 8 pm on Monday.

Earlier, doctors, interns, and medical students had announced an indefinite nationwide strike in all public and private hospitals, including upazila and district-level facilities, to protest the attack on physicians and vandalism by relatives of a patient at DMCH‍‍`s emergency department.

Probe committee formed

Meanwhile, two separate probe bodies have been formed to investigate the attack on doctors, the vandalism incident, and the allegation of negligence in treatment.

The doctors‍‍` demands include the immediate arrest of the perpetrators under the Speedy Trial Act, ensuring security at all healthcare institutions through the deployment of "health police", and restricting entry to hospitals to only patient visitors with security passes. They have warned that the shutdown will continue until their demands are met.