Medical services at NIOH still on hold after clash between July injured and staff

Medical services are still on hold at the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH) in Dhaka following a clash between its staff and those injured in the July Uprising.

The clash took place a day after the hospital director was besieged by protesters following suicide attempts by several mass uprising survivors.

The hospital staff went on strike early on Wednesday demanding additional security in response to the protest and the attempted suicides.

The July injured clashed with the hospital staff around 10am that day. Later, relatives of patients visiting the outpatient department joined in.

Army personnel arrived at the scene in the afternoon and tried to bring the situation under control, although it wasn’t fully contained until the evening.

Since Wednesday morning, all kinds of medical services at the hospital have been suspended. As of Thursday morning, the situation has not returned to normal.

Ashraful Alam, an employee of the NIOH, told bdnews24.com: “After Wednesday’s clashes, no doctors, nurses, or other staff have gone to the hospital on Thursday. As a result, no services are available.”

“They (the July injured) beat our doctors who have been treating them for the past eleven months. They attacked the staff as well. We won’t return to work until we get instructions from higher authorities.”

Selina Begum, a senior staff nurse at the hospital, said that she and several other nurses went to the hospital in the morning but returned home when they found the entrances closed.

“We went to the hospital in the morning and saw the entrance was shut. Security guards and police were there. They didn’t let us in, saying the hospital is closed.”

The hospital's Acting Director Dr Zan-E-Alam told bdnews24.com, on Thursday morning, “The hospital is closed. No activities are taking place. I can’t give any more information.”