"We request the government to reconsider introducing the draft Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019, incorporating the amendments in the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 as approved and passed by Parliament in the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020," Asokan said.
Television images showed thousands of doctors marching on Monday to protest the incident at a government-run hospital, calling for justice for the victim and better security measures, paralysing health services in West Bengal state.
"Women are not safe even inside the campus where we talk about women's empowerment across the country. To ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future, the government should think about it. Whoever is guilty should be caught quickly. The provisional postmortem report also stated that she was sexually assaulted and that it was a murder," he told ANI.
Thousands of South Korean trainee doctors are refusing to return to work on Thursday, the day the government set as a deadline to end a mass walkout, warning that the young physicians' medical licences could be suspended if they do not return to hospitals.
Almost two-thirds of the country's young doctors have walked off the job to protest a government plan to admit more students to medical schools, forcing hospitals to turn away patients and cancel procedures, and raising fears about further disruption to the medical system should the dispute drag on.
Meanwhile, patients, particularly in OPDs, faced trouble and inconvenience in getting treatment in MBS, JK Lon and New Medical College hospitals. However, medical officers claimed the situation was managed with senior residents and permanent doctors in ICU and operation theatres. The nursing staff also boycotted work for two hours in three hospitals in support of the resident's doctors.
On Monday, doctors will work in the hospitals attached to all the medical colleges of the state wearing black bands. After tying black bands in the OPD, all the doctors will condemn the government's move by organizing a general meeting at 1 pm on the hospital premises.
As of now, the resident doctors have withdrawn from attending to all routine OPD services for an indefinite period. Though they are available for emergency and COVID-19 services, their associations have threatened to launch a full-fledged strike in the coming days if the issue remains unresolved.
The inordinate delay has led to a zero year and total disruption of training of several batches. For doctors already doing the three-year PG courses, it has meant working for 4-6 months, including during the second wave of Covid-19, without the first-year students to help.
OPD services at countless hospitals have been suspended for over three weeks, and as the agitation intensifies, several resident doctors associations (RDAs) have threatened to shut down routine medical services.
"Senior residents and junior residents have boycotted services from today. But we are trying to compensate with consultants so that patient care is not much affected," a senior official of the hospital said, adding, about 900-2000 patients visit its OPD daily.
Get updates on your preferred social platform
Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more.
