As tension in the medical community grew through Saturday, several hospitals and clinics were shut down due to simmering tensions that began after a student doctor from Kolkata was injured with a brick by the family members of a deceased 85-year-old man. Several doctors in different cities have been protesting against assaults on doctors, seeking a better working environment. Amidst this friction, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan has written to the Chief Ministers to protect and help the doctors.
In his letter the minister stated that the government should take the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of doctors. He added that a formal legislation should be brought in to guarantee that there is security provided to all members of the medical community.
"Resident doctors in many parts of the country are agitating and not providing healthcare services. Agitations by doctors in West Bengal seem to be getting aggravated and taking shape of strike by both government and private sector doctors, all over the country," Harsh said in the letter.
He also cited recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee in 2017 that suggested the state governments to enact legislation to protect doctors and healthcare professionals.
He also forwarded them the draft of the Protection of Medical Service Persons and Medical Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Act, 2017, provided by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
"In case, a state already has a legislation, it should enforce the IPC/Cr.PC provisions with vigour," the minister said in the letter. “ He added that doctors were an important pillar of the society and often worked under stressful and difficult conditions. "Our doctors rank among the best in the world and work for long hours under stressful conditions, grappling with a huge load of patients. It's the duty of state to ensure their safety and security.”
Speaking to TNM, Dr Sanjeev Singh, Chief Secretary of the Telangana wing of the IMA stated that unless immediate action was taken and proper legislation went into effect, the doctors in Telangana would be ready to continue their strike until their demands were met. “We will certainly protest until we see that action is taken. We are not ready to just hear words, we need them to provide our doctors with the safe environment they need. If that means we need to continue to strike for a few more days, we will do so.”
On Friday, doctors throughout the country took to protesting after a recent attack on a young student doctor. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) too took cognisance of the issue and began showcasing its support for the doctor who was attacked. It later went on to make the announcement that a nationwide protest would be held by doctors on Monday in which non-emergency and non-critical care functions would be shut down in a show of protest.
The young doctor has since then stabilised and is undergoing further treatment at a private hospital in Kolkata. Speaking to the media earlier on Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the government would pay for the doctor’s treatment.
Speaking to TNM, an IMA source stated that the support shown by doctors from different states was overwhelmingly positive, adding that further details about any possible resolution would only be disclosed after further discussions.
The protests which started in Kolkata quickly spread to other parts of the country. Strikes were held throughout the country in several places, including Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai to name a few.
(IANS inputs)