Doctor-patient violence: The grim prognosis of a health system stretched too thin
Surveys show most healthcare workers in Bangladesh have faced violence on the job, mostly at the hands of patients’ relatives. As attacks recur across the country, experts say the answer lies not just in tougher laws, but in fixing a health system that leaves both patients and doctors feeling failed
On 10 June 2026, a 38-year-old man named Monir Khan died at KMC Hospital, a private facility in Barishal city. His relatives alleged that he had died because of negligence after being brought in with heart complications. They also claimed the family had not been informed about his death in time.
What followed was by now a familiar scene in Bangladesh's hospitals: an argument, a confrontation, a scuffle between the patient's relatives and hospital staff, police intervention, and finally a quiet settlement. No written complaint was filed.
Three days later, another incident was reported from Rangpur Medical College Hospital. A patient died in the CCU, allegedly after an oxygen mask could not be provided in time. Angry relatives attacked an intern doctor, physicians shut down emergency services, and the patient's family blocked the highway demanding release of the body.
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Clashes involving doctors, hospital staff, patients and their relatives have emerged as a recurring issue in hospitals across the country. From Dhaka Medical College Hospital to Cox's Bazar, Shariatpur, Jamalpur, Pabna, Chattogram, Sylhet, Bagerhat, Bogura, Panchagarh and Gaibandha, the pattern has become disturbingly repetitive.
In some cases, arrests are made. In others, the matter ends in compromise. But the crisis does not end there. It simply moves to another hospital.
Violence as a symptom of a strained health system
Research shows that violence against doctors and health workers in Bangladesh is not merely a law-and-order problem. It is a health system problem.
A mixed-methods study published in 2023, titled "Violence Against Health Care Personnel and Facility Damage in Bangladesh", surveyed 1,703 healthcare personnel from 61 randomly selected public and private health facilities across all eight divisions.
The study, conducted by the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh and supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, found that more than 80% of healthcare personnel had experienced or witnessed violence at health facilities.
The study found that verbal abuse was the most common form of violence. Around 74.8% of respondents reported verbal violence, while 11.5% reported both verbal and physical violence. Another 8.5% reported incidents involving facility damage alongside verbal and physical violence.
According to the study, 71.9% of violence was carried out by patients' attendants or relatives. Patients themselves accounted for only 16.8%.
This is exactly what recent reported incidents show.
In Shariatpur in May 2026, a doctor named Nasir Islam was beaten after a heart patient died at Sadar Hospital. CCTV footage reportedly showed 20 to 25 people dragging him from the emergency room and beating him repeatedly. He had to be sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment. Police later arrested several of those accused.
In Cox's Bazar in September 2024, a doctor working in the CCU was beaten after a patient died. Intern doctors and medical officers declared a complete shutdown of the hospital, including emergency services, demanding security.
In Chattogram in April 2024, a child specialist was beaten after a child died in a private hospital's NICU. The doctor was admitted to the ICU. The attack triggered protests by doctors' organisations and a symbolic strike across hospitals and clinics in Chattogram.
In Pabna in July 2025, a female intern doctor was allegedly beaten twice by a patient's relatives after a patient died. The doctor later said such attacks had become routine and that doctors were not safe anywhere.
In Jamalpur in March 2024, relatives of a deceased patient allegedly attacked intern doctors and vandalised hospital property. Interns went on strike demanding punishment and security.
The locations also match the research. The national study found that violence was most common in inpatient wards, emergency rooms and outpatient departments. Emergency rooms are particularly vulnerable because relatives often arrive in panic with critically ill patients, and deaths frequently occur there.
Another peer-reviewed study published in BMJ Open in 2024, titled Violence against physicians working in public tertiary care hospitals of Bangladesh, focused on 441 physicians at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. It found that 67.3% of surveyed physicians had experienced workplace violence. Of those cases, 84.5% were psychological, 13.5% physical and 2% sexual.
The study found that physicians in surgery and allied departments, emergency units, rotating shifts and postgraduate training positions were especially exposed. Relatives of patients were identified as the main perpetrators in 66% of cases.
The reasons cited by doctors were revealing: dissatisfaction with treatment, unrealistic expectations from families, patient death, long waiting times, weak security, staff shortages and lack of medical supplies.
These causes appear repeatedly in recent news reports.
In Rangpur, the dispute centred on an oxygen mask. In Dhaka Medical College Hospital in April 2026, a clash began after a prescribed injection was reportedly unavailable in the hospital and the patient was asked to buy it from outside. In Mongla in March 2026, a health worker was attacked after asking what kind of poison a patient had consumed before treatment.
The national mixed-methods study found that health managers and senior physicians identified increased workload, lack of awareness among patients and attendants, and unreasonable expectations of doctors as major causes of physical and verbal violence. Patients and attendants, however, pointed to neglect by doctors and nurses as a trigger.
This gap in perception is central to the crisis.
Doctors often say they are overworked, understaffed and expected to do the impossible in overcrowded hospitals. Patients and relatives often feel they are ignored, poorly informed, or forced to navigate a confusing system at moments of fear and grief. When a death occurs, these frustrations explode.
The problem is rooted in both supply-side and demand-side challenges. On one hand, there are issues related to clinical quality, equipment shortages, maintenance, operational funding and workforce constraints. On the other hand, patients and their families often lack the medical knowledge needed to assess whether negligence has actually occurred. As a result, allegations following a patient's death or deterioration can quickly escalate into confrontation.
Bangladesh's public hospitals are especially vulnerable. A 500-bed hospital often treats several times more patients than its official capacity. In Bogura's Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, intern doctors protesting an attack in May 2026 said they were serving around 3,000 patients in a 500-bed hospital. Such overcrowding creates long waits, short consultations and emotional pressure on both sides.
The cost of conflict
The result is a cycle of violence and service disruption.
After an attack, doctors demand security and justice. They often stop work, close emergency gates, or announce shutdowns. This is understandable from the doctors' point of view, especially when colleagues are beaten inside hospitals. But for patients, especially the poor who depend on public hospitals, the consequences are immediate and severe.
In Dhaka Medical College Hospital in April 2026, emergency services were closed after a clash between doctors and Dhaka University students. Patients waited outside, some in ambulances. In Cox's Bazar, emergency services were suspended after a doctor was assaulted. In Rangpur, emergency services were closed after an intern doctor was attacked.
The research mentioned earlier also shows that reporting and accountability remain weak. The study found that although 89% of healthcare personnel said a reporting system existed, only about one-quarter actually reported violent incidents. Most cases were reported to hospital managers and often resolved through verbal warnings or informal mediation.
This helps explain why the same pattern keeps recurring. In many cases, police arrive, calm the situation, and both sides reach a compromise.
The challenge of protecting care
Successive attacks on doctors have triggered demands for stronger legal protections, but health policy experts argue that security measures alone will not solve the problem.
In October 2025, the government drafted two new laws: the Health Service Workers and Institutions Protection Ordinance 2025 and the Patient Protection and Remedy Ordinance 2025.
The first seeks to criminalise attacks on doctors, nurses and healthcare facilities. Under the draft, attacks on healthcare workers could carry prison terms of up to five years, while serious assaults causing grievous injury could result in seven years' imprisonment. Damage to hospitals or medical equipment could also lead to significant penalties.
More severe punishment is proposed for organised attacks. If violence against healthcare workers results in death, perpetrators could face penalties equivalent to homicide under existing criminal law.
At the same time, the second ordinance seeks to address one of the longstanding complaints of patients and their families: the absence of an effective mechanism for seeking accountability when treatment goes wrong.
Under the proposed law, intentional misconduct or gross negligence causing serious harm or death could become a criminal offence punishable by up to seven years in prison. The draft also proposes specialised tribunals to handle cases involving medical negligence and patient rights.
Health policy analysts see the dual-track approach as significant because it attempts to address both sides of the increasingly fragile relationship between healthcare providers and the public.
Dr A M Zakir Hussain, chairman of the Community Clinic Health Support Trust, said the rise in attacks on doctors reflects both weaknesses within the health system and growing tensions between patients and providers. "If you ask me to identify the three biggest concerns in Bangladesh's health sector, attacks on doctors and healthcare workers would certainly be one of them," he said.
"The problem is rooted in both supply-side and demand-side challenges. On one hand, there are issues related to clinical quality, equipment shortages, maintenance, operational funding and workforce constraints. On the other hand, patients and their families often lack the medical knowledge needed to assess whether negligence has actually occurred. As a result, allegations following a patient's death or deterioration can quickly escalate into confrontation."
He said Bangladesh still lacks a dedicated law to protect doctors, healthcare workers, patients and healthcare facilities from such incidents. "There are also serious manpower shortages and major gaps in the system, including the absence of trained counsellors who can explain a patient's condition, prognosis and treatment limitations to family members," he said.
"If proper counselling mechanisms existed, many misunderstandings could be avoided. The growing number of attacks is creating fear among young doctors and discouraging many from remaining in clinical practice, which is not a positive sign for the future of the healthcare system."
Syed Abdul Hamid, professor at the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka, argued that the violence ultimately reflects a broader erosion of trust in the healthcare system. "The biggest risk is the erosion of public trust," he said. "When violence, vandalism and attacks occur in hospitals following a patient's death or deterioration, confidence in the healthcare system declines. As trust falls, more people become inclined to seek treatment abroad, benefiting foreign healthcare providers while weakening confidence in domestic institutions."
Hamid said many of the confrontations stem from communication failures rather than individual wrongdoing. "One of the biggest weaknesses in our healthcare system is the lack of training in interpersonal communication, empathy and counselling," he said.
"Medical education focuses heavily on clinical knowledge but pays far less attention to teaching healthcare workers how to communicate with distressed patients and their families. Many confrontations begin with misunderstandings, particularly involving young intern doctors who are themselves under immense pressure. Better communication, empathy and conflict-management skills could prevent many of these incidents before they escalate into violence."
