Healthcare services remain disrupted as Delhi doctors continue their strike

The doctors' strike in the national capital over the rape and murder of a medic at a state-run hospital in Kolkata entered its seventh day on Aug 18, as non-emergency services, including OPD, remained paralyzed.

Protests began here on Aug 12 evening. Initially restricted to medical college campuses, doctors started taking to the streets from Aug 16 over the incident at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month.

According to an action plan, members of resident doctors' associations (RDA) in Delhi took out a candle light march from outside Gate 1 of the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station at Connaught Place.

Dr Parth Mishra, vice president of UCMS and GTB Hospital RDA told PTI that as discussed, resident doctors from medical institutions participated in the march.

The demonstrators, who are demanding a central law to check violence against on-duty health personnel and justice for their peer, formed a human chain in the Connaught Place Inner Circle.

Efforts were also made to interact with the public to raise awareness about the incident.

Those part of the march, which ended around 9 pm, raised slogans in support of their demands. They displayed placards demanding justice for the victim and one them read "when the white coat turns red, society turns black". A few children holding the tricolor were also spotted in march.

Late Aug 18, resident doctors announced that their strike will continue. In an action plan for Aug 19, a meeting was scheduled for 9 am on in front of the GTB Hospital's gate.

Following the meeting, the doctors will proceed to Nirman Bhawan at 11 am, according to a joint statement by RDAs.

Dr Dhruv Chauhan, health activist and national council member of the Indian Medical Association's junior doctors network, alleged, "Some hospital administrations are threatening doctors to return to duty while they are peacefully protesting for their rights."

"Does this mean we don't even have the freedom to exercise our right to speech and protest as permitted by the Constitution?" he asked

If the authorities had issued as many circulars to protect doctors' rights and security, such an incident might never have happened, Chauhan added.

The strike has affected academic activities, outpatient departments (OPDs), ward services, and elective surgeries at public as well as private health facilities.

Essential emergency services, including Intensive Care Units (ICUs), emergency procedures, and emergency surgeries, continue to operate.

A group of distinguished Padma Awardee doctors has urgently appealed to the President of India for immediate intervention following a Kolkata incident.

In a letter expressing deep concern and anguish, the doctors condemned the brutal events that have shaken the medical community and the nation at large.

The doctors highlighted the rise in violence against healthcare professionals, particularly against women and girls said "Such acts of brutality shake the very foundations of service by medical professionals," the letter read.

In their appeal, the Padma Awardee doctors have urged law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and society at large to take decisive steps to ensure the safety and dignity of healthcare professionals across the nation.

On Aug 17, the Union health ministry in a statement assured that it would form a panel for suggesting measures to boost the safety of healthcare personnel.

It had said Representatives of all stakeholders, including the state governments, will be invited to share their suggestions with the committee as it urged the doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and in view of the rising number of dengue and malaria cases.

A resident doctor from Safdarjung Hospital said a concrete response from the government regarding bringing the central law would have offered some relief. "However, after seven days, we are still waiting. As stated earlier, the strike will continue indefinitely until our demands are met," the doctor said.

(PTI)