Hospitals in Delhi and Maharashtra join Kolkata doctors in their protest
Expressing solidarity with the doctors in Kolkata, the healthcare services in Government hospitals will remain shut in Delhi and Maharashtra today, i.e., Friday, June 14, 2019.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), country’s largest Government hospital, will remain closed for Outpatient Department (OPD) services and routine surgeries. However, the emergency services will continue to function. AIIMS at Patna and Raipur will also remain close as a part of the protest
The President of Delhi Medical Association – Dr. Girish Tyagi has said that many corporate hospitals will also remain close today. The doctors are wearing black badges today to mark a black day this Friday. The President of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) – Dr. Kalyani Dongre confirmed that 4,500 resident doctors in Maharashtra would stay away from work.
The Vice President of AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association – Dr. Jawahar Singh said, “We work tirelessly for hours to save lives. But today, our own lives are in danger. How can we work in such environment? Our colleagues in Bengal are being attacked and threatened while the state looks away.”
The case relates to Nil Ratan Sircar (NRS) Medical College in Kolkata where junior doctors have been on strike since Tuesday, June 12, 2019, staging protest against the physical assault of 2 young interns, Paribaha Mukhopadhyay and Yash Tekwani, by the family members of an octogenarian patient who passed away.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal – Mamata Banerjee intervened in the matter by reaching the Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM) Hospital on Thursday, June 13, 2019 and asking the doctors to conclude their strike in 4 hours, failing which the Government would act against them, including eviction from hostels. Subsequent to this, the emergency services were commenced at SSKM Hospital and Burdwan Medical College.
Speaking at SSKM Hospital, Mamata Banerjee said, “The junior doctors’ agitation is a conspiracy by the CPI(M) and the BJP.” She also said that outsiders have entered the medical colleges and are creating unrest in the State.
The striking junior doctors, who were wishing Chief Minister’s intervention in resolving the matter, took this as a warning. They went on to defy the orders and have vowed to continue their strike till their demands for security and justice are met.
Besides, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is also going to send an appeal to the Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister – Amir Shah, seeking a ‘Central Hospital Protection Act’ to protect doctors from attack.
