The government has formed three separate enquiry committees following the recent incidents at Birdem General Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College (Mitford) Hospital and Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. This was stated by Health Minister Mohammad Nasim after a meeting with leaders of journalists’ and doctors’ association at his office on Tuesday. The committees, headed by joint secretaries, have been asked to submit reports within a week, he said. Talking to reporters, Nasim said information centres will be opened at all public hospitals to provide information to journalists. He said his ministry will bear medical expenses of the journalists injured in the violence at RMCH and Mitford Hospital and provide compensation for damage of their equipment, including cameras. The minister said his ministry has drafted a law take action if any doctor is found guilty of negligence causing death to patients. “The proposed law has been sent to Law Ministry for vetting,” he said. Nasim urged journalists to postpone their protest programmes. Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) president Prof Mahmud Hasan and President of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul attended the meeting. Hasan said doctors at the three hospitals have postponed their agitation. On Sunday night at least 10 journalists were injured in an attack allegedly by intern doctors at RMCH. The journalists were covering a clash between doctors and relatives of a patient. The attackers also smashed two cameras of the journalists. The interns of Mitford Hospital went on an indefinite strike on Monday following a case filed the Ekushey Television (ETV) authorities against its director and four interns for alleged assault on some journalists. Earlier, they attacked and injured six journalists, including a cameraman, of ETV when they went there for collecting information for “Ekusher Chokh”, an investigative programme of the channel. Some angry relatives of a patient physically assaulted three doctors and vandalised furniture and windowpanes on the 14th floor of the Birdem hospital after the patient died on Sunday night. The relatives alleged negligence of duty by the attending doctors. – UNB
