The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) called off its strike as Union Health Minister JP Nadda accepted their demands on Tuesday night. However, top Delhi hospitals—AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, Indira Gandhi Hospital Dwarka, PGIMS and Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital continued their strike on Wednesday. Management of these hospitals said they would continue their strike, demanding a law to ensure the safety of healthcare workers.
On Monday, several government-run hospitals went on an indefinite strike after a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered while on duty at the R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata, West Bengal.
Demand for central law for doctors’ protection
The medics at the central government-run AIIMS, the Indira Gandhi Hospital and other resident doctors’ associations, including the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA), reiterated that their stir would continue until a central law to curb attacks on medical personnel is implemented and a concrete solution found.
Doctors’ delegation meets Health Minister
Earlier a delegation of FORDA met with Nadda at his residence. The association said the decision to end the strike, effective from Wednesday morning, was taken in the interest of the welfare of patients. “A key outcome of the meeting was the health minister’s agreement to form a committee with FORDA’s involvement to work on the Central Protection Act. The ministry has assured that work on this will begin within the next 15 days,” FORDA said in a statement released late Tuesday night.
“The committee will focus on the timely implementation of the Act, aimed at ensuring a safer working environment for healthcare workers. Meetings for this initiative are set to commence within the next two weeks, with FORDA forming a delegation to participate,” the statement said.
An official notice from the health ministry is expected soon, it said.
According to the statement, a pivotal point of the discussions was the government’s decision to initiate a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the tragic incident at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata.
In addition to the CBI investigation, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has responded to the association’s calls for enhanced security in healthcare institutions by establishing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for nationwide application, it said, adding “these SOPs are expected to empower institutions across the country to demand better security measures”.
Ceasework by doctors in Bengal hospitals continues
The healthcare services were severely hit at almost all hospitals across West Bengal as doctors continued their ceasework on Wednesday. Long queues were seen at ticket counters of outpatient departments (OPDs) of all government hospitals where senior doctors joined their junior counterparts to protest against the crime.
“We have no new demand. We have seen that attempts have been made to provide a shield to a group of persons. Some people have tried to tamper with the evidence by starting construction work on the same floor of the RG Kar hospital where our sister was raped and murdered. We do not see any reason to stop our protest,” an agitating doctor said. The West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors had called for a ceasework at the outpatient departments of all governmental and private hospitals in the state. Junior and senior doctors, interns and house staff were seen wearing blackbands on their arms and shouting slogans, demanding justice for the woman doctor.
CBI team reaches Kolkata
A CBI team from Delhi reached Kolkata on Wednesday to investigate the rape-murder case following the Calcutta High Court order.
Importantly, the government assured that no police action would be taken against doctors involved in the strike, either in Kolkata or across the nation, the statement said. “Our ultimate goal is to serve humanity better, and we can only do so if we feel safe and protected,” it added.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: Kolkata doctor-rape murder case: Family discloses horrific details after autopsy reveals ‘genital torture’
