Memorandum submitted to Health Minister, doctors seek Central law against hospital violence
Expressing solidarity with protesting colleagues in Kolkata, doctors at several Government and private hospitals in Delhi on Friday boycotted work and demonstrated against an attack on their colleagues in West Bengal. Wearing bandages on forehead or helmets, doctors under the banner of the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) held out marches on the AIIMS campus on Friday.
Doctors at Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital and hospitals run by the Delhi Government such as Lok Nayak Jayaprakash (LNJP) Hospital, Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, DDU Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, and private hospital like Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Friday also joined the stir. The resident doctors associations of GB Pant and Guru Nanak Hospital, associated with the Maulana Azad Medical College have also joined the protest.
In a memorandum submitted to the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, doctors demanded a central law against hospital violence. They have sought immediate security and intervention of the Centre to stop the "politically motivated atrocity" on the protesting doctors in West Bengal. They have also demanded recruitment of both "armed and unarmed trained competent security guards" at all Government health facilities and increasing the number of security staff at hostels.
There were some demands made by the Resident Doctors Association in the letter which was sent to the Health Minister, Government of India, adaptation of a uniform security code applicable to all Government healthcare facilities across the country. And to formulate an SOP for the entry and exit protocols in wards, emergencies, and OPD and hostel premises. They also demanded to deploy armed securities in hostel premises of the hospitals.
There was a shutdown of outpatient departments (OPDs), routine operation theatre services and ward visits, except emergency services in several hospitals of the city. However, in the wake of the strike, the AIIMS has instituted contingency measures to take care of the patients admitted, including those in the ICUs and wards.
A senior official of LNJP hospital said that the OPD services at the hospital are shut, and only emergency department is functioning. He said patient services will get affected as this is the Delhi Government’s biggest hospital, but, as fellow doctors, a stand has been taken to show support.
At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the private OPD was closed for today as a mark of solidarity, officials said. "All doctors of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital are fully in support of our colleagues in West Bengal and strongly protest against growing tendency of violence against doctors," a hospital spokesperson said.
The DMA executive stated that the organisation is ready for an agitation to press for strong legislation and strict action against violence at hospitals. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has directed the members of all its state branches to stage protests and wear black badges on Friday.
Meanwhile strike by doctors affected OPDs in hospitals as people could be seen running around. There were many patients with their family members, who wore worried look in absence of medical help. Doctors said they want to work but their security should be ensured by the State.