Khaleda Zia’s treatment will continue at Evercare Hospital for now: Zahid

The treatment of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will continue at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka for now, her personal physician, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, said on Saturday night.

“Whether she will be taken abroad or not will depend on her physical condition and the decision of the medical board formed for her,” he said while addressing a press conference held in front of the hospital.

Khaleda, 80, was admitted to Evercare Hospital on 23 November following the advice of her medical board after being diagnosed with infections in both her heart and lungs. 

She has since also developed pneumonia and is currently being treated in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) under the close supervision of a combined team of local and foreign specialists.

The BNP chief has been suffering from a range of chronic health complications, including cardiovascular disease, liver and kidney disorders, diabetes, lung ailments, arthritis and various ophthalmic conditions. She has a permanent pacemaker and previously underwent stenting due to cardiac complications.

At the press conference, Dr Zahid said that after conducting various necessary tests, the doctors decided that Khaleda Zia required treatment in intensive care. 

Following the decision of the medical board, she was admitted to the CCU on the morning of 27 November, he said.

Her son and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman is overseeing all aspects of her treatment at the hospital, he added.

“Treatment will continue here under the guidance of expert doctors from countries, including the USA, and China.”

Dr Zahid, also the BNP Standing Committee member, urged the party supporters not to crowd the hospital area since many other patients are admitted alongside the BNP chief.

To ensure that no one’s treatment is disrupted, he requested everyone to minimise gathering and pray for her recovery from their respective places according to their own faiths. 

Earlier in another press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Khaleda Zia's physical condition is not fit for travel abroad at the moment.

Meanwhile, the family of the BNP chairperson is preparing to move her to London for advanced medical treatment, subject to improvement in her current health condition. 

The development was confirmed on Saturday through a Facebook post by Mahdi Amin, adviser to BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.