The Bengal doctors' protest was sparked off by an assault on two medical interns at NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, by the family of a patient who died of alleged negligence on Monday evening. One of the juniors was critically injured and had to undergo surgery at the Institute of Neurosciences.
This prompted the doctors in hospitals across the state to go on strike demanding the direct intervention of the state's chief minister in ensuring their safety. The agitation soon spilled over to other states where the medical practitioners stood in solidarity with their colleagues. Some used black badges, tied bandages or wore helmets while rendering medical services, others went on to march in protest and observing similar strikes in their respective workplaces.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan too wrote to Mamata Banerjee, advising “better communication and a compassionate approach”.
Agitating doctors Saturday turned down West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's offer for talks at the state secretariat saying they fear about their security and rejected her appeal to end their stir. As medical services in the state remained paralysed, Banerjee urged the agitators to resume work and said her government has accepted all their demands. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory seeking a report on the stir. But Banerjee reacted sharply to it and said such an advisory should be "sent to states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat where several murders are reported since the last couple of years". (PTI)
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi Saturday wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advising her to take immediate steps to provide security to medicos and find out a solution to the impasse arising out of junior doctors' agitation across the state. Banerjee later said that she has spoken to the governor and apprised him about the steps taken by the state government to resolve the impasse in hospitals. Tripathi advised her to take the doctors into confidence about the arrangements of their security as well as the progress of the investigation into the incidents of assault on them. It will help create a suitable atmosphere and "enable the doctors to resume their duties", the governor's letter read. (PTI)
Junior doctors say there is no honest initiative from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, adding that they will continue their agitation.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday said that she spoke to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on the ongoing agitation by the junior doctors in the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday said that she had cancelled all her meetings and programmes to meet the agitating junior doctor to discuss their situation, but the doctors themselves refused to meet her. She added that one must respect a constitutional body.
Junior doctors in West Bengal, earlier on Saturday, said they won’t attend the meeting called by Banerjee at the state secretariat in the evening. Instead, they demanded that she interacts with them at NRS Medical College and Hospital and delivers an unconditional apology for her remarks at the SSKM Hospital on June 13.
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi writes to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asks her to take steps to provide security to doctors.
"I am not going to take any foolish action. If you think I'm not capable to listen to you, you can talk to the Governor or my Chief Secretary. Health services cannot go like this. I appeal to everyone, my Chief Secretary, media, police, that please restore normalcy. I appeal to all doctors to resume work as thousands of people are awaiting medical treatment. I am not going to take any stringent action," says CM Banerjee.
"BJP governments in the past have invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to threaten agitating doctors. I believe in democracy and that's why I have not invoked ESMA," says Mamata Banerjee.
"The state has taken the decision to bear all the expenses of medical treatment of the junior doctor who is admitted at a private hospital. The government is committed towards resuming normal medical services at the soonest," says Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"The whole incident was unfortunate. We are taking all action against the perpetrators who attacked the junior doctors on June 10. Please get back to work," Mamata Banerjee appeals to the junior doctors on strike.
"We want a peaceful resolution to the whole issue. We have been trying to resolve the issue but to no avail," says Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressing the media.
Doctors in the centrally-sponsored JIPMER in Puducherry will boycott work on Monday in solidarity with their striking counterparts in Kolkata. The management of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research announced that the doctors association in the institute had given notice announcing the strike on June 17. A release from the management said in view of the plan of doctors to resort to a strike all the services in the OPD and in the laboratory and elective surgeries scheduled for Monday have been suspended. However, the hospital would render emergency services on Monday, the release said. (PTI)
“Yesterday Director of Medical Education (DME) and West Bengal University of Health and Services verbally informed us that our Chief Minister has asked us to meet her with some of our representative at her office. For the last two days, the CM has made offensive and inappropriate statement directed towards doctors. Following that, we faced mob attack and physical assault at different medical and dental colleges and hospitals,” read a statement issued by junior doctors. Read more
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Saturday asked states to consider enacting specific legislation for protecting doctors and medical professionals from any form of violence. Along with a letter to all chief ministers, he also attached a copy of the Draft Act provided by IMA --the Protection of Medical Service Persons and Medical Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Act, 2017. He drew the attention of all states and UTs for strict action against any person who assaults doctors. (PTI)
The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report from West Bengal government on steps taken to contain political violence and nab culprits. Separately, it has sought a report from the government on the ongoing strike by doctors. Pointing out the growing number of incidents of election-related and political violence, the MHA advisory said, "unabated violence over the years is evidently a matter of deep concern”.
Security to be beefed up in every Medical College and Hospital across Kolkata, CCTV coverage to be made effective in every part of the MCH: Here are some decisions taken at the meeting of health and family welfare department.
General body meeting of junior doctors in NRS hospital is over. They have decided to continue with their agitation. They have also decided to not go to Nabanna for a meeting with the chief minister and are sticking to their stand that Mamata has to come to NRS to meet them. They said they are open to dialogue to end the stalemate.
IMA is holding meeting at NRS to decide whether some junior doctors will go to Nabanna to meet Mamata. They refused to do so yesterday. Mamata Banerjee has again invited them for a meeting at 5pm today.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit Dr Paribaha Mukherjee, the medical intern injured during Monday's violence at NRS Medical College and Hospital. He has been admitted to a hospital located in Central Kolkata.
Karnataka BJP has tweeted that it is high time that Bengal government pays heed to the demand of the doctors and provide treatment to Mamata's allergy towards democracy.
Doctors' protest spreads nationwide. Watch video.
Scores of doctors from several government hospitals here, who could not join a nationwide stir on June 14, Saturday protested in solidarity with their striking colleagues in Kolkata. Doctors at the Centre-run Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital and RML Hospital, and Delhi government facilities such as Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and DDU Hospital, boycotted work and held protests.
However, ICUs and emergency wings of these hospitals are functioning, he said. There was a shutdown of out patient departments (OPDs), routine operation theatre services and ward visits, except emergency services at these hospitals of the city, where doctors held their token strike on Saturday. (PTI)
On Friday, doctors laid down conditions to resume work. These include:
* Urgent intervention of Chief Minister in the matter, interaction with the agitating students at NRSMCH followed by a detailed statement from her office condemning the events that took place on June 10 and withdrawal of her remarks at the SSKM Hospital on June 13.
* Documentary evidence and other details of action (those arrested, names, identification, date of arrest and sections applied) and list of suspects made by police against all involved in the violence against doctors on June 10.
* Documentary evidence of judicial enquiry against police failure to provide protection to doctors at NRSMCH, Burdwan Medical College and Hospital and other medical colleges and hospitals. * Unconditional withdrawal of all cases and charges slapped on doctors and medical students across West Bengal.
In the biggest state-run hospital, SSKM, politics has drawn a sharp and clear dividing line. While junior doctors, interns, nurses and even hospital staff vent their anger at the ruling party and Mamata Banerjee, most patients and their relatives back the CM but their support is laced with another anger too: anger that Banerjee has failed to find a solution to the impasse. And that her words don’t seem to matter much. Read more...
Junior doctors at NRS hospital on protest.
As safety of doctors in hospitals takes centrestage with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) calling for an all-India strike on Monday, The Indian Express looks at similar incidents of violence by relatives and friends of patients in hospitals in different states in the recent past. The reaction of the state government and hospitals has been varied — with immediate arrests of perpetrators of violence in Bengaluru to provision of unarmed guards in Patna and pardon of the accused and withdrawal of FIR by doctors in Ahmedabad. Read more...
A delegation from IMA met Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan over the ongoing strike of doctors in West Bengal.
Striking junior doctors turned down Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's invitation for a meeting at the state secretariat, which was called to resolved the impasse and continued their protest for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday. The doctors, who are protesting against the assault on two of their colleagues at NRS Medical College and Hospital, had on Friday sought unconditional apology from Banerjee and set six conditions for the state government in order to withdraw their stir. (PTI)