This weekend, outpatient departments (OPDs) and elective medical procedures are likely to come to a standstill as the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a nationwide 24-hour withdrawal of services by doctors on August 17.
Senior officials from the medical body on Friday demanded proper investigation into the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. They also wanted a central law to check violence on healthcare workers.
“The withdrawal of services by all the modern medicine doctors will start from 6 am on Saturday to 6 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 hospitals joined 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 there is a dire need for a central law to save doctors and healthcare workers from violence of any kind.
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“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 got any assurances from the health ministry, Asokan said while it did not give any assurance, the ministry remains sensitive to issues faced by doctors.
Asokan also demanded that the government declare hospitals across the country as safe zones on lines of airports, so that doctors can work without fear.
They sought a proper investigation, time-bound prosecution and appropriate punishment for the guilty, especially after the attack against protesting doctors in Kolkata.
This comes as the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the police and the hospital authorities to file affidavits on the situation at RG Kar Medical College campus. The high court said the mob violence was an absolute failure of state machinery.
A division Bench presided by the HC’s Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam said it was hard to believe that the police intelligence did not have information about the gathering of 7,000 people. This came as 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. This is 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 BJP of orchestrating vandalism at RG Kar Hospital. She said they attempted to obscure the truth behind the rape and murder of a woman doctor by spreading fake news on the social media.
Reiterating her demand for capital punishment for the guilty, she commended the Kolkata Police for their investigation, which was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the 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.