The horrific rape and death of a 31-year-old chest medicine postgraduate student in Kolkata has caused a great deal of discontent among India’s medical community. The August 9 incident at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, which dates back to the British rule, sparked national outcry and a brief nationwide strike by physicians.
Some junior physicians persisted in their demonstrations on Sunday even after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) called a 24-hour strike to an end. They are drawing attention to persistent worries about violence against women and insufficient safety precautions for healthcare workers while calling for quick justice for their slain colleague. The murder has heightened criticism of India’s criminal justice system, which critics believe is still incapable of stopping such horrific crimes despite changes made in the wake of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which represents a large proportion of the country’s medical workforce, demanded that hospital security protocols be strengthened to a level comparable to that of airport security. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) stressed in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that since women make up 60% of the country’s medical workforce, patient safety had to be a top concern. They have pleaded with Modi to see to it that safety measures are implemented to protect medical personnel.
The disturbance has been especially noticeable in Gujarat. For a third day, more than 6,000 resident physicians at government hospitals restricted their work to emergency care during their walkout. According to Dr. Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors’ Association at B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad, the protest would not stop unless the government takes meaningful steps to meet their demands.
With dengue and malaria cases on the rise, the Indian government has appealed on doctors to return to their jobs. A group is being established to investigate ways to improve healthcare workers’ safety. Nonetheless, physicians’ opinions continue to differ. While some have returned to their regular jobs, others, represented by the Joint Action Forum of Junior Doctors and All India Residents, have prolonged their protest and given authorities a seventy-two-hour ultimatum to ensure a comprehensive investigation and make arrests.
The environment surrounding R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata has been tense. To stop disturbances, the authorities have banned meetings and sent out police wearing riot gear. Protests persist in spite of the ban and unfavorable weather, indicating the medical community’s intense rage and need for justice.
SOURCE :
THE PRINT
