Resident doctors at government hospitals across the country held protests on Monday, August 12 and Tuesday, August 13, due to the recent rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee in Kolkata, with those in West Bengal and Delhi going on an indefinite strike that affected outpatient services and non-emergency surgeries.
The move is in response to a call by Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) which said “The strike will not stop unless justice is served and our demands are met.”
Outpatient departments (OPDs), operation theatres and ward duties will close during the indefinite strike period but emergency services will continue operating as usual according to FORDA.
Multiple hospitals resident doctors including Centrally-run facilities AIIMS, RML Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital have been striking since Monday morning causing hardships to patients who visited the out-patient departments (OPDs) of these medical facilities.
Junior doctors, interns and Postgraduate Trainees PGs at government medical establishments across West Bengal vowed to continue their agitation until the culprits are brought to book.
Allegedly raped and murdered parts of a postgraduate trainee’s body were found inside a seminar hall of RG Kar Hospital last week. A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the case.
This has sparked widespread protests across India as junior doctors express deep concern over their safety.
All elective services in hospitals across Maharashtra will be halted from Tuesday; all emergency services will be continued as usual,” Central MARD (Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors) said in a statement on August 12th. This comes after two days following similar action by resident doctors at AIIMS Delhi over inadequate security measures for health professionals especially when handling patients whose conditions could get critical if not attended promptly. Emergency care shall however continue so as not to let critically ill patients suffer without treatment”, pointed Raghunandan Dixit General Secretary AIIMS RDA talking about the strike.
Other major hospitals in the national capital involved in the strike included Maulana Azad Medical College, RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Institute of Human Behaviour Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College and National Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases Hospital.
FORDA DEMANDS
“FORDA has decided halting of elective health services across the nation which is supported by all the doctors and medical associations. At a personal level we also request the doctors to wear black ribbons as a mark of solidarity in support of the victim who lost her life,” said Dr. Chauhan.
There were doctors holding up posters saying ‘we want a safe environment to work’ and chanting ‘we want justice’ in various hospitals.
“We won’t back down until we see some results, it’s a national issue and we’ll get behind our fellow students all the way,” said Rajat Sharma, President of GTB Hospital RDA.
RDA members have also met with Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, where they called for a CBI inquiry into the incident.
Doctors wear black armbands and ribbons
In Rajasthan’s Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD), however, the association announced an indefinite strike in protest against the Kolkata incident. JARD president Manohar Siyol said that all non-essential services have been immediately suspended.
Resident doctors from several government hospitals in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh state, held protests against the incident and demanded a time-bound probe into the matter. The protests took place at King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Kalyan Singh Super Speciality Cancer Institute (KSSSCI) and Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences.
Protesters with black ribbons on their hands carried placards demanding a thorough investigation into the matter as well as protection for hospital staff from assault by relatives of patients or touts on hospital premises
Junior doctors of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) went on an indefinite strike yesterday while protesting. In Jammu, hundreds of resident doctors suspended their regular work and staged a peaceful rally to lodge their protest against the Kolkata incident.
The doctors wearing black arm bands shouted slogan demanding justice to victims. They started walking from Super Specialty Hospital holding placards one read ‘we stand in solidarity with the victim’ and ‘raise your voice before you become the next victim’.
Junior doctors at Bhopal’s Madhya Pradesh state medical college hold a candlelight vigil over the incident and those at Bengaluru’s NIMHANS Hospital stage a protest demanding justice for the victim. The Karnataka State Chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has strongly condemned this gruesome rape and murder, which its members called for an unbiased thorough investigation of the case and punishment to the culprits.
Meanwhile, about 50 people participated in protests in other parts of the country including Patna, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
Between sixty and eighty postgraduate medical students from Madras Medical College staged a peaceful demonstration march past on Monday, August 12th to express solidarity for the killed doctor.
The JRDA in Puducherry launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday, August 13th. All elective OPDs have been closed by taking action to expedite judicial processing with regard to this case except for emergency services.
