The Indian Medical Association (IMA) decided to go ahead with its strike on Monday and withdraw all non-essential health services, including outdoor patient department (OPD services, in hospitals across the country in the wake of the recent murderous assault on doctors in Kolkata’s NRS Hospital.
The announcement came a day after Union health minister Harsh Vardhan asked states to consider enacting specific legislation for protecting doctors and medical professionals from any form of violence.
Terming the strike of junior doctors in West Bengal as failure of the system, an IMA official said: “All that was asked was a visit to the victim by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Is it too much? And if you did not meet them, then why to insult them?”
Several top private hospitals in Mumbai have declared they will join the strike. The Asian Heart Institute (AHI) in Bandra, Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri and Fortis group of hospitals have announced that they will keep the OPDs shut. Nearly 3,500 radiologists from across Maharashtra, including 800-odd from Mumbai, will be participating in the strike.
Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association will also join the strike, demanding National Hospital Protection Act and action against assailants. Karnataka IMA secretary Srinivas S said more than 15,000 hospitals across the state would take part in the strike.
More than 12,000 doctors across Bihar will join the strike. However, keeping the grievous situation due to the increasing number of patients suffering from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in several north Bihar districts, the paediatric department at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) and Sadar Hospital at Muzaffarpur had been exempted from the strike.
The Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society (PHNHS) in Rajasthan has declared a complete shutdown of all nonessential medical services, including OPD.
(With inputs from agencies)