Khaleda in Evercare ICU; getting top-level treatment: Dr Zahid

Talking to reporters outside the hospital, Dr Zahid said Khaleda Zia is still able to receive the treatment being provided by the doctors.

“She is taking the treatment and she is responding as she did in the past,” he said, urging all not to pay heed to any rumours on social media regarding her health.

Dr Zahid said local and foreign doctors are working together to ensure the best possible treatment for the former prime minister. “In medical terms, she is responding to the treatment being given,” he said.

He said there was a plan to airlift Khaleda Zia to the UK last Friday for advanced treatment and an air ambulance arranged by the Emir of Qatar was expected to take her to London.

The physician, however, said this was not possible due to a technical problem with the air ambulance and also because Khaleda was not fit enough to fly at that time.

Dr Zahid said the medical board, which includes specialists from both Bangladesh and abroad, is working to ensure that Khaleda Zia receives all necessary treatment at Evercare Hospital.

He said she may still be taken abroad if required, but it is not possible to say exactly when that might happen. “The time has not come yet to give a definite date.”

Khaleda Zia has been receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital since 23 November and was moved to the Critical Care Unit on 27 November with multiple health complications.

A medical board led by cardiologist Professor Shahabuddin Talukder, and including specialists from Bangladesh, the UK, the USA, and China, is supervising her treatment.

Her daughter-in-law, Dr Zubaida Rahman, has been attending the medical board’s meetings in person since returning to Dhaka, reports UNB.