Staff Correspondent

Medical services at the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH) in Dhaka have remained suspended since yesterday (28 May) following a clash between a group of "July Uprising injured individuals" and hospital staff.

The main gate of the hospital remained closed today, with no doctors, nurses, or staff members coming to the hospital, sources at the hospital confirmed

They said apart from the 60–65 patients admitted from the July movement, no other patients are currently in the hospital. Despite the rain, some patients came seeking treatment but had to return without receiving any service.

Although the injured protestors from the movement are staying inside the hospital, they too are not receiving any medical care, as no staff, nurses, or doctors are present.

The chaos began yesterday morning when a group of July injured attacked hospital staff, who were protesting to demand increased security, according to hospital sources.

The sporadic clashes left at least 15 doctors, nurses, and employees of the eye hospital injured, Hospital Director Prof Dr Khair Ahmed Chowdhury told 

Dr Khair alleged that a group of the July uprising injured attacked the staff, and they were attacking anyone they could find.

The July uprising injured have, however, rejected the allegations.

Witnesses reported that attackers used sticks and rods to break windows of the hospital's residential quarters. The operation theatre and the anaesthesia department were also reportedly vandalised.

Ashraful Alam, a hospital staff told , "After Wednesday's clash, no doctors, nurses, or staff came to the hospital on Thursday. As a result, no hospital activities are running."

We will not return to work until we receive instructions from higher authorities."

Attempts were made to contact Dr Zane Alam, the acting director of the hospital, to ask when normal operations would resume, but he did not answer his phone.

Tensions sparked in director's office

According to Dr Khair, tensions began escalating on Tuesday (27 May) when some members of the injured group confronted him in his office.

"On Tuesday afternoon, a group of July uprising injured visited my room, including the four individuals who had attempted suicide last Sunday. They were arguing and blaming each other over not sharing donated funds," said the hospital director.

He added, "The tension escalated when one of them revealed he had brought petrol. Fearing an accident, I alerted law enforcement. The army arrived, and the group dispersed."

In the aftermath, hospital staff began a work stoppage yesterday morning to demand increased security.

Tensions boiled over when the July injured clashed with the protesting staff. The situation worsened as relatives of other patients joined the clash.

Law enforcers arrived at the facility around 1:30pm, and by 4:45pm, the situation was brought under control

Meanwhile, Hillol, a July injured patient admitted to the hospital, claimed that none of their group came downstairs on Wednesday."On Tuesday, a few July injured tried to commit suicide by pouring petrol in the hospital director's room. But on Wednesday, none of us even went downstairs. We have video footage as proof," he said.