What took place at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Sunday can only be described as shameful. Claiming the wrongful death of a patient, the family members along with other people assaulted several doctors, nurses, and Ansar men and vandalised the ward, after which the emergency complex was shut down by doctors and hospital staff in protest. As if this was not appalling enough, the lockdown lasted three hours which then led to over a hundred patients in need of emergency care being turned away. Both the assault on the hospital staff and the shutdown of the emergency unit are highly condemnable.

Where do we even begin? These incidents reflect the history of negligence and violence that we are so used to seeing in hospitals all over the country. First, this goes to show that medical professionals—despite repeatedly having voiced concerns about their safety—are not even accorded the minimum level of protection that is required for any workplace environment.

Second, the fact that DMCH hospital staff resorted to locking down the emergency complex as an act of protest is indicative of a prevalent attitude of negligence towards patients. Why, we ask, were innocent patients denied care and made to suffer? For a hospital to turn away patients is a gross offence and should be considered as such.

The authorities of DMCH should take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of hospital staff and all those involved in shutting down the emergency unit should be strongly disciplined. And the preventive measures should apply to all hospitals—both public and private.