Dhaka Medical’s ambulance strike leaves patients extreme hardship

Patients and their families faced mounting hardship as a strike by private ambulance owners at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) entered its second day on Wednesday, with the operators demanding permanent parking facilities and a fixed fare structure.

The indefinite strike began on Tuesday morning (October 27) under the initiative of the DMCH unit of the Private Ambulance Owners Welfare Association. Some members of the organisation had staged a human chain protest a day earlier, pressing for permanent parking inside the hospital’s garden gate area, standardised fares and resolution of other operational issues.

Shahadat Hossain, president of the Dhaka Medical Ambulance Owners Association, said the hospital authorities had shut down their parking facilities without providing an alternative, forcing ambulance operators to park on nearby roads and exposing them to disputes with police.

“We have been providing services to patients by parking our ambulances inside the hospital premises for a long time. But the authorities suddenly stopped the parking arrangement. As a result, we have suspended our services as well,” he said, reiterating the demand for permanent parking.

The work stoppage has left patients and their relatives struggling to arrange transport, particularly in cases requiring the transfer of critically ill patients or the return of deceased patients’ bodies to their homes. Families have faced distress as they search for available ambulances.

DMCH Director Brigadier General AKM Farhad Hossain firmly rejected the demand for permanent parking for private ambulances inside the hospital compound, citing severe space constraints.

He said the decision to discontinue the parking arrangement had been taken in consultation with law enforcement agencies to ease congestion in front of the emergency department, maintain discipline and reduce the suffering of patients and their relatives.

The director warned that legal action would be taken against ambulance operators who held patients hostage to their demands or illegally obstructed roads as part of the strike.


The director said relatives unfamiliar with the surrounding area sometimes fell victim to fraud when they went outside the hospital to arrange transport. The hospital’s plan to provide seating for relatives is intended to address some of their difficulties.

However, with the strike continuing and no immediate resolution reported, patients and their families remain under pressure to secure ambulance services.