Aurangabad : Doctors hold satyagraha to remind govt of their demands

Aurangabad: The guardians of well-being and health on Monday expressed fear over there own safety and security, as thousands of doctors across the country joined hands in observing fast from 6:30am to 6:30pm against the ‘lethargy of the centre in fulfilling their long pending demands.’

“Over 120 doctors registered their participation in the nationwide stir by gathering at IMA Hall in Samarth Nagar. They signed a resolution of demands which will be sent to the chief minister, the governor and the Prime Minister,” the president of Aurangabad branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Ramesh Rohiwal said.

A central legislation against the violence against doctors remained one of the key demands of the ‘dawn-to-dusk satyagraha’ on Monday.

At present, each state has its own legislation to deal with violence against doctors. However, due to the absence of a central legislation, these provisions lack uniformity. We are demanding a central legislation which was also recommended by an inter-secretarial committee formed by the central government,” IMA, Aurangabad secretary Santosh Ranjalkar said.

The doctors’ national body also reiterated its demand for amending the PCNDT Act established to control the gender determination through sonography. The act need amendments as “petty clerical mistakes in form filling also lead to criminal cases against the doctors,’ he added.

Doctors opined that stringent rules of the clinical establishment Act are going against small nursing homes and giving way to big corporate hospitals. The IMA members have asked the government to drop such strict norms.

The elimination of National Exit Test (NEXT) will be conducted after the completion of five and half year MBBS course and a year-long internship to certify the doctors to practice publicly also constituted the demands.

The nationwide satyagraha that marked the participation of 1,700 local IMA units from across the country asked the government to cap the compensation in cases of medical negligence.

Aurangabad IMA president said, “The agitation was designed and undertaken in a such a way that the healthcare services remains unaffected.”