Mass uprising: all injured receive free treatment for life

Those injured in the July uprising will be given identity cards that will allow them to receive free care in government hospitals for life, the government decided yesterday.

Certain private hospitals will be bound by contracts with the government to treat these people for free, said Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser on health and family planning.

A framework for the government’s initiatives for the injured would be ready within five working days, he said after a meeting at the Health Ministry attended by six advisers, a group of students and several persons injured during the July-August uprising.

Some of the decisions taken at the meeting are already being implemented, he told reporters.

During the meeting, the injured expressed frustration over hospital mismanagement and expenditure on treatment.

Sayedur said he told them to keep the receipts so the government could refund them.

The current government supports the sacrifices these people have made, he said.

Sayedur said beds will be allocated for them in all government hospitals, and government facilities in Dhaka will be linked for their care.

If the injured file complaints of negligence, a thorough investigation will be conducted, he said, adding that the government would do everything possible to make life easier for those who lost their eyesight.

“They will be provided with one-time financial assistance, if necessary, and training depending on their education and capabilities so that they can take advantage of employment opportunities,” he said, adding that people with physical disabilities will be provided with physiotherapy and equipment funded by the state.

Those suffering from mental trauma will receive psychotherapy through a telemedicine network, he added.

The government will open a support center in each divisional city to provide some of the above-mentioned services.

Advisor Nahid Islam later said he doubted whether political parties and the media were meeting their responsibilities to the injured.

“The stories of the martyrs and the wounded should be part of the national discourse. But people simply put all the responsibility on the government and talk about the elections and various other issues,” he said.