To express their disapproval of recent violent occurrences against medical professionals, hundreds of resident doctors in Madhya Pradesh, including those at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhopal, went on strike on August 16. The state’s medical services have been severely disrupted by this strike, as physicians stopped working in elective operation rooms (OTs) and outpatient departments (OPDs), but emergency and intensive care unit (ICU) services continued to run.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) called the strike in reaction to the terrible events that took place in Kolkata. At Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, a young female medical student was brutally raped and killed. August 15 saw damage at the West Bengal government-run facility in the wake of this occurrence. The victim’s seminar hall and other hospital areas were destroyed, which prompted more violence against medical students who were demonstrating.
The IMA has expressed its condemnation of the rape and the vandalism that followed, describing these as the causes of the large-scale demonstration. The incident and the way the investigation was handled infuriated the association. In response to concerns about possible evidence tampering and dissatisfaction with the state police’s progress, the Calcutta High Court ordered on August 13 that the West Bengal police transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
About 25,000 doctors participated in the strike in Madhya Pradesh, including 12,500 IMA members and an equal number of connected student members. Doctors made sure that emergency services and critical care functions, including as intensive care units (ICUs) and urgent operations, proceeded uninterrupted despite the strike’s disruption of regular hospital services, which started at 8 a.m.
The Bhopal Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) president, Sanket Site, verified that around 12,000 doctors participated in the walkout, which also included a halt to non-emergency medical care and academic pursuits. Nonetheless, emergency calls were being answered as of 2:00 pm to guarantee that vital patient care was not jeopardized.
More safety precautions and security for medical professionals are needed, as the strike has shown. State health officials, including Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, have been asked to comment. The medical community’s larger worries about violence against healthcare professionals and the suitability of the existing legal and security systems are reflected in this protest.
SOURCE :
THE PRINT
