Kolkata medic rape-murder: IMA's 24-hour doctors' strike cripples OPDs nationwide

New Delhi: The government's assurance on Saturday to form a panel for suggesting measures to boost the safety of healthcare personnel failed to quell protests by medics who remained firm on their demand for a central law on the matter and decided to continue their agitation against the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata.

OPD services were hit across the country as doctors joined the 24-hour nationwide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to protest the incident at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital last week and the subsequent vandalism at the facility.

The association also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in realising its five demands, including a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel and declaring hospitals safe zones with mandatory security entitlements.

Resident doctors at government hospitals in different parts of the country, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Haryana among others, have been protesting since Monday.

On Saturday, the Union health ministry said representatives of all stakeholders, including the state governments, will be invited to share their suggestions with the committee as it urged the doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and in view of the rising number of dengue and malaria cases.

Representatives of the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA), IMA and resident doctors' associations of government medical colleges and hospitals of Delhi met the Union health minister in the wake of the Kolkata incident.

While the IMA said it is studying the statement released by the ministry assuring doctors of all possible efforts to ensure their safety and offering to form a committee to suggest measures for the same, the AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) said similar panels have been formed in the past without any significant progress or the passage of relevant legislation.

Patients wait outside the OPD of state government run SSKM hospital as doctors protest against the sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor, in Kolkata.

The IMA said it will respond to the ministry's statement after careful consideration of all aspects and consultations with its state branches.

On the government's assurance, the AIIMS RDA said the ministry's statement assuring the protesting doctors of constituting a committee to suggest all possible measures for ensuring safety of healthcare professionals lacks confidence and trust.

It said similar committees have been formed in the past without any significant progress or the passage of relevant legislation.

"It was decided unanimously to continue the strike as our demands remain unaddressed. This includes halting academic activities, elective OPDs, ward, and OT services, while maintaining emergency services, ICUs, emergency procedures, and emergency OT," the RDA said in a statement.

A resident doctor of the LNJP Hospital said, "I am not happy with this, and neither are any of the doctors or association members. We have seen similar promises before, but this time we want something concrete. We all want a protection act and a written assurance from the ministry. Until that happens, we will continue to fight." Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said everyone was concerned about the rape and murder of the doctor in Kolkata and not just the healthcare fraternity.

Rijiju was speaking to reporters at the Bhubaneswar airport in Odisha.

In West Bengal, the epicentre of the protest, the former principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital Dr Sandip Ghosh appeared before the CBI for questioning for the second consecutive day on Saturday in connection with the horrific incident.

Ghosh reached the CBI office for the second time a little before 10.30 am.

During his first round of questioning on Friday, the former principal was asked about his first reaction after getting the news of the doctor's death whom he instructed to inform the family and how and who contacted the police.

Meanwhile, doctors in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Mizoram, and Nagaland among other states joined the 24-hour strike called by the IMA.

In the national capital, major private hospitals shut down their OPDs, elective surgeries and IPD services.

Resident doctors in the capital have been on an indefinite strike since Monday. As the strike entered its sixth day on Saturday, private hospitals also joined the protest alongside government hospitals.

Hospitals like Sir Ganga Ram, Fortis and Apollo have halted their OPD, elective surgeries and IPD services.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren condemned the alleged rape and murder and appealed to the protesting medics to return to work for the sake of the patients.

Healthcare services were affected in Jharkhand during the day as doctors joined the IMA's nationwide call for the withdrawal of non-emergency services.

Soren also said he has directed the DGP to take strict steps to ensure the safety of all the staff working in state hospitals.

Condemning the rape and murder of the trainee doctor, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said a meeting has been called on August 20 to discuss the steps to be taken to ensure the safety and security of doctors, nurses and all the staff working in hospitals across the state.

More than 4,500 doctors in Chhattisgarh joined the strike that affected medical services across the state.

Doctors held protests at many places in Punjab and Haryana and demanded safety for healthcare professionals at workplaces.

Outpatient department services remained non-functional and elective surgeries were also not conducted at hospitals in the two states but emergency services were not affected, according to the protesting doctors.

In Gujarat, doctors stayed away from OPDs and did not conduct elective surgeries in several hospitals.

They also held protest gatherings and took out rallies, shouting slogans demanding justice for the trainee doctor who was raped and murdered on August 9.

In Bihar, AIIMS-Patna Executive Director and CEO Gopal Krushna Pal told PTI that it has been decided to deploy more female security guards and install an additional 150 CCTV cameras on the campus, among other measures.

Private medical practitioners also joined the stir in Maharashtra, affecting healthcare services in the state.

Doctors running private clinics and nursing homes associated with the IMA of Uttar Pradesh also abandoned work while in Mizoram, apart from OPDs in government hospitals, all private clinics were closed.