 "Don't want to be next victim: Delhi medics march against peer's rape-murder | India News")
Earlier in the day, doctors at the Safdarjung and RML held a silent protest march, sporting black ribbons. (Photo: PTI)
“I don’t want to be the next victim”, read placards carried by several women medics who were part of a march here on Saturday to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata last week.
Hundreds of medics, including doctors and resident doctors, wearing stethoscopes over their white aprons, started their march from the Lady Hardinge Medical College on the sixth day of their agitation over the incident and to press for their demands such as a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel.
On reaching Connaught Place, they held an around 25-minute sit-in, before police removed barricades and allowed them to proceed to the Jantar Mantar for the next phase of their demonstration — a candle light march.
Non-emergency services, such as OPD and diagnostics, and elective surgeries at city-based health facilities, including at Centre-run AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital and RML hospital, are hit since Monday.
Inconvenience of patients further increased as personnel of private institutions such as Sir Ganga Ram, Fortis, and Apollo also joined protests on Sunday following a call by apex doctors’ body Indian Medical Association (IMA) for a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency services.
Sarjeena, who contracted an infection a few months after her delivery, came to the hospital for a check-up but was told that “only emergency patients are being treated”.
Earlier in the day, doctors at the Safdarjung and RML held a silent protest march, sporting black ribbons.
“As you are aware, in light of the heinous incident that occurred at the R G Kar Medical College, Kolkata, involving a resident doctor, the residents of our institute are on strike, demanding the urgent implementation of a ‘Central Protection Act’ to ensure a safe environment for practising doctors,” the Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIMS) said in a communication to the AIIMS-Delhi director.
The IMA on Saturday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the implementation of its demands — a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel at workplaces, declaration of hospitals as safe zones with the first step being mandatory security entitlements, meticulous and professional investigation of the last week incident in Kolkata, and an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Aug 17 2024 | 10:39 PM IST
