Around 3.5 lakh doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) participated in a nationwide protest on Friday demanding a Central law dealing with violence against medicos. In Jharkhand, the doctors held a protest at IMA Bhawan Ranchi pressing for the demand of a Central law against violence against doctors.
“We are deeply hurt to see increasing physical violence on doctors and healthcare professionals. It's occurring day in and day out. The IMA is pressing for a Central Act against the violence," the IMA said in a statement.
The doctors present at the meeting demanded the enactment of Health Services Personnel and Clinical Establishment (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019, which sought to impose a jail term up to ten years along with other provisions of CrPC and IPC for assaulting on-duty doctors and other healthcare professionals. The doctors also stated that they have staged the protest under the theme of ‘Save the Savior’, stating that if the doctors are assaulted or tortured it is the patient who ultimately suffers as patients’ treatment is affected.
The IMA protest was attended by Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh, Dr RC Jha, Dr Shambhu Prasad, Dr Ajit Kumar, Dr Bharti Kashyap among others. The IMA also demanded fast track court for dealing with assault cases of doctors.
IMA State coordinator Dr Ajay Kumar Singh said that the doctors in State have been pressing for setting up a Medical Protection Act since 2007 and Hemant Soren has been supporting doctors’ demand both inside the house and outside. He said, “Now that Chief Minister Hemant Soren is in power, the doctors are optimistic that the demand for setting up a medical protection act will be fulfilled.”
Echoing the views of Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, Dr Ajit Kumar of JDA said that the State Government should also bring law to tighten the noose around corporate culture against those big hospitals which in the name of treatment charges heavy fees from patients.
Notably, the fight for the Medical Protection Act has been going on for over 10 years in the State. “A coordination committee was made for MPA, headed by Dr Bharti Kashyap, which struggled for 10 years for the Act. During the President’s Rule in the State it was okayed after taking signs of 10 social organisation heads, but as the President’s Rule ended it could not be implemented,” said Chairperson Women Doctors Wing, IMA, Jharkhand, Dr Bharti Kashyap.
The IMA doctors also protested against Baba Ramdev's recent statement against allopaths. Calling the Ramdev row unfortunate, IMA said many other branches have filed police complaints against him for malafide statements on vaccinations and allopathic modern medicines of coronavirus.
"We have urged the Prime Minister to take appropriate action against him. We respect Ayurveda as part of our culture and ancient science, but we never go out and criticize it. What happened was unfortunate. We have evidence that medicines such as Coronil don't work," an IMA doctor said.