 "Doctors body calls to suspend OPD and elective procedures on Saturday | India News")
Mumbai: Nursing staff of Nair Hospital stage a protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, in Mumbai, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
This weekend, outpatient departments (OPDs) and elective medical procedures are likely to receive a jolt as the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a nationwide 24-hour withdrawal of services on August 17 for doctors of modern medicine, irrespective of the sector and place of work.
Senior officials from the medical body announced on Friday a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of services, demanding a proper investigation into the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, along with a central law to check violence against healthcare workers.
“The withdrawal of services by all modern medicine doctors will start from 6:00 am on Saturday, August 17, to 6:00 am on Sunday, August 18,” an official with the IMA said.
“While all essential and emergency services will be maintained, routine OPD services will not function and elective surgeries will not be conducted,” he added.
It is not yet clear how many leading private institutions will join this protest, but the IMA claimed that several corporate hospitals have also promised support.
Highlighting the body’s demands, IMA National President R V Asokan said that there is a dire need for a central law to protect doctors and healthcare workers from violence of any kind.
“Currently, 25 states have laws against attacks on doctors and hospitals, but there have been no convictions so far. These laws are mostly ineffective on the ground and do not serve the purpose of deterrence,” he said.
A four-member delegation of the IMA had met Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday to push for their demands. Commenting on whether they received any assurances from the health ministry, Asokan said that while they did not give any assurance, the ministry remains sensitive to the issues faced by doctors.
Asokan also demanded that the government declare hospitals across the country as safe zones on the lines of airports so that doctors can work without fear. He also demanded a proper investigation, time-bound prosecution, and appropriate punishment for the culprits, especially after the attack on protesting doctors in Kolkata.
This comes as the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the police and the hospital authority to file affidavits on the situation at R G Kar Medical College campus, calling the mob violence an absolute failure of state machinery.
A division bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said it was hard to believe that police intelligence did not have information about the gathering of 7,000 people when the state’s lawyer told the court that a mob of such a number had assembled at the hospital in the early hours of Thursday.
The bench also directed the police and the administrator of the hospital to file separate affidavits narrating the true state of affairs at the hospital and all connected matters on August 21, when the matter is scheduled to be heard again.
TMC, BJP spar over mob violence on protesting doctors
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the opposition CPI(M) and the BJP of orchestrating vandalism at R G Kar Hospital and attempting to obscure the truth behind the rape and murder of a woman doctor by spreading fake news on social media.
Reiterating her demand for capital punishment for the culprits involved in the crime, Banerjee commended the Kolkata Police for their investigation, which was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Calcutta High Court.
Meanwhile, West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar was detained by the Kolkata Police after organising a sit-in protest against the state government’s handling of the case.
“We will not be intimidated by the TMC police. Our resolve remains unshaken. We will continue to fight for justice with unwavering determination,” he told news agency ANI.
First Published: Aug 16 2024 | 8:52 PM IST
