Medical services such as working of Outpatient Departments (OPDs) and non-emergency surgeries at various Government hospitals across the country, including the national Capital, continued to remain paralysed on Tuesday as the resident doctors’ agitation against the rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.
On Tuesday, more resident doctors joined the strike led by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA).
The incident has sparked widespread protests, with over three lakh junior doctors and healthcare workers expressing deep concern over their safety. Amid the strike led by the FORDA, which said “the strike will not be lifted until justice is done and our demands are met”, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the West Bengal Government and the State’s police chief in the matter.
The commission on Tuesday said it has sought the reports from these authorities in two weeks.
However, acting tough, as the Delhi AIIMS’ Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) continued their indefinite strike on Tuesday too, the hospital administration warned them against holding any demonstration on or around the hospital campus stating it was in violation of High Court directions and amounts to contempt of court.
The administration issued an office memorandum drawing the attention of all resident doctors to the “Code of Conduct’ as laid down by the High Court. It further stated that the violation of the High Court orders by the individual/students/employees/group of employees, students/Resident Doctors/Associations/ Unions etc will be in contravention of the directions of High Court and make them liable for disciplinary actions and also for contempt of court.
It also asked all HoD and centre chiefs to send the attendance of the Resident Doctors everyday by 3 pm.
Voices across the country are expressing deep concern over the safety gaps exposed by the recent rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a Kolkata medical college.
Joint secretary of the Association of Resident Doctors, PGIMER, Chandigarh Dr Perugu Praneeth Reddy said that our protest continue today. But the emergency services at the hospital were on. We are demanding that safety for the doctors be ensured at hospitals.
After the junior doctors went on the strike on Monday, PGIMER authorities said that emergency services will be on but the outpatient department services would be curtailed, with the registration of only follow-up patients in respective departments.
A doctors’ association in Uttar Pradesh has written to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, pressing for security measures at medical institutions. Uttar Pradesh RDA’s president Dr Hardeep Jogi said the association has written to the Union Health Minister, urging for safety and security measures at hospitals in light of the “disturbing and horrific” murder the postgraduate student in the West Bengal capital four days ago.
“The RDA Uttar Pradesh expresses its profound condolences for the loss of this young woman and strongly denounces the failures that permitted such a grave offence to occur. The inability to safeguard our institutions reflects a critical lapse in administration. And governance,” it stated.
The RDA also sought an urgent meeting with the health minister to discuss the pressing issues faced by the medical community, the “escalating violence” against doctors and the “deteriorating working conditions” which have created “an atmosphere of fear”.
“This must be addressed to prevent future tragedies,” it said. Junior doctors at state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on Tuesday started ‘pen-down’ agitation by boycotting OPD services and elective surgeries in protest against the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata.
“Around 200 doctors have joined the agitation and senior resident doctors have also supported our stir. Our protest excludes emergency services as we do not want any patient in need to suffer,” Ankit Kumar, president of Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) at RIMS, told a news agency.
Meanwhile, senior residents and junior doctors of MGM Medical College and Hospital (Jamshedpur), Shaheed Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital (Dhanbad), Phulo Jano Medical College and Hospital (Dumka), Sheikh Bhikari Medical College and Hospital (Hazaribag) and Medinirai Medical College and Hospital (Palamu) too joined the protest on Tuesday.
The Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) announced immediate suspension of non-essential services. JARD president Dr Manohar Siyol said that emergency services are unaffected on Tuesday. The resident doctors also held a demonstration against the incident.
Resident doctors in Maharashtra started an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning in support of the nationwide protests by their colleagues against the rape-murder of a post-graduate trainee at a medical college in Kolkata.
All elective services in hospitals across the state have been halted, but emergency services will continue uninterrupted, Maharashtra State Association of Residential Doctors (Central-MARD) president Dr Pratik Debaje said.
FORDA president Aviral Mathur said that as the meeting with the Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Monday remained inconclusive said that the strike would continue. “I, along with the association members and doctors, met with the Union health minister’s team on Monday. Since no resolution was reached regarding the demands, the strike will continue for another day,” Mathur had said. He had also clarified that emergency services would continue to function.
