Osmani Hospital intern doctors withdraw strike

Intern doctors at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital have withdrawn their work stoppage.

Hospital Director Brigadier General Omar Rashed Munir confirmed the development on Sunday, January 18, following a meeting between the hospital authorities and intern doctors.

He said the hour-long meeting resulted in assurances that Ansar members would be deployed at key hospital points. Intern doctors also placed eight demands and proposals, which were discussed positively. Considering mental preparedness, the interns decided to resume duties from 8am on Monday rather than returning to work immediately.

Their demands include deploying two trained Ansar members at each admission unit, one for male wards and one for female wards; hourly patrols in the evening; an on-call emergency force at night; limiting attendants to two per patient; introducing seasonal visiting hours; holding a monthly meeting with the hospital director; ensuring the presence of mid-level doctors alongside interns, particularly on admission days; making assistant registrars more responsible for intern training; strengthening the role of on-duty police; rotating Ansar and outsourced staff regularly; and restricting unrestricted access of pharmaceutical company representatives.

Earlier, interns had gone on an indefinite work stoppage demanding security and punishment of those responsible after an attack on intern doctors and staff over allegations of medical negligence, partially disrupting hospital services.