 "Doctor Protest, Protest")
New Delhi: Doctors protest against the sexual assault and killing of a postgraduate trainee doctor in Kolkata | (Photo: PTI)
This report has been updated.
The Union government on Saturday announced to form a committee, which it said would suggest measures to ensure safety of healthcare professionals, even as services at most hospitals across the country were hit due to 24-hour strike by doctors in protest against the alleged rape and killing of a 31-year-old resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which made the announcement about the panel, also appealed to the doctors to call off the strike in larger public interest.
The doctors went on a strike at 6AM on Saturday on a call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has demanded proper investigation into the gruesome crime on the premises of the Kolkata hospital.
Other major demands of the IMA included a central law to check violence against healthcare workers, declaration of hospitals across the country as safe zones on lines of airports and appropriate duty hours for doctors.
Healthcare services hit at major centres
Due to the strike, routine outpatient department (OPD) services and elective surgeries have been affected, while all essential and emergency services were running smoothly in most places.
OPD services at major New Delhi hospitals remained suspended as doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Guru Teg Bahadur, Ram Manohar Lohia and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) hospitals joined the protest.
The OPD at Fortis Hospital Mulund wore a deserted look with a few patients in the waiting area.
No doctor has turned up for OPD. At the entrance of the OPD a flex banner with a picture of a faceless woman doctor said, “Justice for RG Kar”. Candles were lit in front.
In Kolkata, the epicentre of protests against the brutal rape and murder of the trainee doctor, doctors at government and private hospitals responded to the IMA’s call for withdrawal of services until 6 am.
At the state-run SSKM Hospital, one of the oldest general hospitals in the country, resident doctors were in a sit-in protest—they have been since August 10, when the death of the trainee doctor at RG Kar came to light. One of the protesting doctors said they would continue until their demands were met.
OPD services were crippled at SSKM and the nearby Sambhunath Pandit Hospital.
The scene is similar at private hospitals.
Manipal Hospitals, which has the largest network in the east, has rescheduled all OPD appointments for the day.
A message has been shared with patients who have OPD appointments about the closure of services in line with the IMA’s call for a nationwide withdrawal of medical services. All emergency and essential services continue.
Rupak Barua, managing director and chief executive officer of Woodlands Hospital, also said a majority of doctors had discontinued their OPD services.
“Emergency is open and we have strengthened it. A few surgeries that are elective but urgent are being carried out. Most have been rescheduled.”
Pradip Tondon, CEO of Belle Vue Clinic, said that OPD chambers were not functioning today because doctors are supporting the IMA call. “Elective surgeries are also not taking place. But emergency services are continuing.”
“Most of the doctors who could not come today, we have called them on Sunday,” he added.
Strike gets support from state doctors associations, private hospitals
State resident doctor’s associations (RDAs) too supported the strike, with government hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal halting all non-essential services.
The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) and doctors at Sion Hospital have also been actively participating in protests, with doctors shutting OPDs and focusing on emergency services wearing black armbands.
Some RDAs and junior doctor’s associations in Bihar including Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur also announced shutdown of emergency services as well, along with non-essential and elective services.
Private institutions too, gave their support to the strike with doctors at major private hospitals such as Fortis and Apollo participating in it, with doctors not turning up to OPD’s in some instances.
In their official statement, Fortis Healthcare stated that they stand in solidarity with the IMA and wider medical community.
“We respect the sentiments of our doctors, and will support those who wish to participate in the nationwide shutdown,” the healthcare company said.
Similarly, Apollo Hospitals too said that they will continue to be at the forefront of advocating for the safety and dignity of all healthcare workers.
Standalone clinics, labs shut down
Many standalone clinics and laboratories too cancelled all their appointments for today to support the 24-hour strike.
At a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) run hospital in Mulund the emergency services were running, but there were no doctors in OPD.
A staff at the hospital said that protests are necessary because what happened in Kolkata can happen to anyone of us.
Medical organisations like the All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA), Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) too have joined the nationwide strike.
Nationwide protests erupted after the killing of a 31-year-old resident doctor in Kolkata, whose brutalised body was discovered last Friday in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College. She had gone to rest after a 36-hour shift, only to be found murdered in the morning.
First Published: Aug 17 2024 | 1:40 PM IST
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