Amid nationwide protests denouncing the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, healthcare professionals and medical students from the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) called on Friday for the enactment of a Central Protection Act for healthcare workers.
Dr. Kumar Kartikay from AIIMS Delhi said that they will not retreat until they receive a firm assurance that concrete action will be taken on the issue.
“We want to peacefully put forward our demands. We demand a Central Protection Act for healthcare workers. Until we get a written assurance, we will continue our strike… We are expecting around 3000-5000 people at Nirman Bhawan today from all the medical colleges in Delhi… We will not step back or sit quietly till we get an assurance that action will be taken,” he said.
Junior doctors and medical students at AIIMS Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh also staged a protest, performing a street play to express their outrage over the rape and murder of a woman resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
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Senior Resident Doctor at AIIMS Mangalagiri, Dr Sreeja requested the CBI to conduct a transparent investigation.
“On the eve of Independence Day, protesting doctors at RG Kar faced mob attacks and also police attacks. The hospital was vandalised and evidence was erased. In condemnation of this, we are protesting here… It’s not just a crime against doctors. It’s a crime against women and humanity… We request the CBI to conduct a transparent investigation… The victim’s family should receive adequate compensation… We also demand a Central Protection Act for all healthcare workers,” she said.
Medical professionals at Chandigarh’s PGIMER continued their protests on Friday, vowing to persist until justice is served. Patients visiting the hospital expressed their frustration with the ongoing five-day protest, urging the government to meet the doctors’ demands.
“We are facing a lot of problems due to the absence of OPD. We have come from a long distance,” said Nitin, a patient.
“If the OPD is closed, then, we should have informed first. Now we have come. Our checkup was done on the old card but the card for meeting the new doctor is not being made, so we will have to come again,” said another patient Pushpa.
“We have been roaming around here since last night but no one is listening to us nor the doctors are attending to us. The government must listen to the doctors so that the strike gets over,” said Gurpreet, a patient.
In the meantime, the Resident Doctors Association at the Government Medical College in Amritsar, Punjab, announced the suspension of all non-essential and elective services, including outpatient departments, operating theatres, and wards, starting August 16 and continuing until further notice.