In response to claims that a 31-year-old resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was raped and killed, doctors across the nation went on a 24-hour strike. On Saturday, the Union government announced the formation of a committee that would recommend steps to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals.
In addition to announcing the panel, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare urged the doctors to end their strike in the greater good of the public.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has called for a thorough inquiry into the horrific crime that occurred on the grounds of the Kolkata hospital, issued a call for the physicians to go on strike at six in the morning on Saturday.
A national law to prevent violence against healthcare workers, the designation of hospitals throughout the nation as safe zones on airport property, and suitable duty hours for physicians were among the other main objectives of the IMA.
Major centres see a disruption in healthcare services.
While most necessary and emergency services were operating as usual, the strike has disrupted elective procedures and normal outpatient department (OPD) services.
Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Guru Teg Bahadur, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) hospitals joined the protest, while OPD services at major New Delhi hospitals remained suspended.
There were a few patients in the waiting area of Fortis Hospital Mulund’s OPD, which had a deserted appearance.
For OPD, no doctor has shown up. “Justice for RG Kar” was written on a flex banner at the OPD door and featured an image of an anonymous female doctor. In front, candles were lit.
On Saturday, all clinics—dental, ayurvedic, and allopathic—on the Lal Bahadur Shastri Road, which runs alongside the streets of Mulund and Bhandup, two of Mumbai’s eastern suburbs, had closed.
Doctors at government and private hospitals in Kolkata, the centre of protests against the savage rape and death of the trainee doctor, complied with the IMA’s request to suspend operations till six in the morning.
Since August 10, when news of the trainee doctor’s death at RG Kar surfaced, resident doctors at the state-run SSKM Hospital, one of the nation’s oldest general hospitals, have been staging a sit-in protest. A doctor who was part of the protest declared that they would not stop until their requests were fulfilled.
OPD services at the neighbouring Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and SSKM were severely disrupted.
At private hospitals, the scene is similar.
All of the OPD appointments for the day have been rescheduled by Manipal Hospitals, the largest network in the east.
Patients who have appointments at the Outpatient Department (OPD) have received a notice regarding the closure of services in response to the IMA’s demand for a national withdrawal of medical services. All critical and emergency services are still available.
The bulk of physicians had stopped providing OPD services, according to Woodlands Hospital’s managing director and chief executive officer, Rupak Barua.
“We have reinforced and made emergency available.” A few urgent yet elective procedures are being performed. The majority have been rearranged.
OPD chambers are not operating today, according to Belle Vue Clinic CEO Pradip Tondon, since physicians are backing the IMA call. Furthermore, there are no elective procedures performed. However, emergency services are still available.
“We have called the majority of the doctors who are unable to come today,” he continued.
Private hospitals and state medical associations back the strike.
With government hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal suspending all non-essential services, state resident doctor’s associations (RDAs) also backed the walkout.
Doctors at Sion Hospital and the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) have also been actively involved in protests; donning black armbands, the doctors have closed their outpatient departments and prioritised emergency care.
Along with the non-essential and elective services, some RDAs and junior doctor’s associations in Bihar, such as Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur, Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), and Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna, also announced the closure of emergency services.
Private organisations also backed the walkout, with physicians from prestigious private hospitals like Fortis and Apollo taking part. In certain cases, doctors even skipped out of out-of-office visits.
Fortis Healthcare expressed their solidarity with the IMA and the larger medical community in an official statement.
The healthcare provider stated, “We respect our doctors’ sentiments and will support those who wish to participate in the nationwide shutdown.”
In a similar vein, Apollo Hospitals declared that they would keep leading the charge in promoting the security and respect of all medical personnel.
Independent clinics and labs close
In support of the 24-hour strike, other independent clinics and laboratories also cancelled all of their scheduled appointments for today.
Emergency services were operational at a hospital in Mulund that is managed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), however the outpatient department (OPD) was empty of physicians.
Hospital employees stated that demonstrations are required since anything that occurred in Kolkata might happen to any of us.
The statewide strike has been joined by medical organisations such as the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA), and Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA).
The brutalised body of a 31-year-old resident doctor in Kolkata was found last Friday in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College, sparking nationwide outrage. After working a 36-hour shift, she went to sleep, only to wake up to find herself slain.