Doctors hold posters to protest against the rape and murder of a young doctor from Kolkata at the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada on August 14, 2024. “Elective services were stopped to protest against the rape and murder of a young doctor.
Idris Mohammed | AFP | Getty Images
Hospitals and clinics across India refused to admit patients except for emergencies on Saturday, with medical professionals beginning 24-hour closures to protest against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata.
More than a million doctors are expected to join the strike, paralyzing health services in the world’s most populous country. The hospital said medical school faculty have been pressed into service to serve emergencies.
A statement from the Indian Medical Association said the strike began at 6am (00:30 London time), cutting off access to elective medical procedures and outpatient consultations. The rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor last week at the Kolkata medical college where she worked sparked nationwide protests by doctors, in line with the infamous gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus events are similar.
According to news agency ANI, there was a heavy police presence outside the RG Kar Medical College where the crime took place on Saturday, while the hospital was deserted.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, which includes Kolkata, supported the protests across the state and demanded that investigations be expedited and the culprits punished in the harshest possible manner. A large number of private clinics and diagnostic centers remained closed in Kolkata on Saturday.
Dr. Sandeep Saha, a private pediatrician in the city, told Reuters he would not care for patients except in emergencies. Hospitals and clinics in cities including Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Guwahati in Assam and Chennai in Tamil Nadu are also participating in the strike, which will be the largest hospital services in recent years Close one.
Dr. Prabhas Ranjan Tripathy, deputy director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhubaneswar, told Reuters that in Odisha, patients were queuing and senior doctors were In an effort to control the flow of people, “resident doctors are on general strike and because of that, all faculty and staff, which means there is increased pressure on senior doctors,” he said.
“needs punishment”
Patients lined up at hospitals, some unaware that the riots would prevent them from receiving medical care. An unidentified patient at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack, Odisha, said: “I spent 500 rupees ($6) on travel to get here. I have paralysis and paralysis in my feet, head and other parts of my body. Burning sensation.
“We didn’t know about the strike. What can we do? We have to go home.” Raghunath Sahu, 45, who had been waiting in line at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, told Reuters that doctors The set daily quota of clinic visits ended before noon. “I brought my sick grandmother. They didn’t see her today. I have to wait another day and try again,” Sahu said as he left the queue.
According to Kolkata police sources, the Central Bureau of Investigation (the agency responsible for investigating rape and murder cases) has summoned some medical students of RG Kar College to ascertain the circumstances of the crime. Sources said the CBI on Friday also questioned hospital directors.
India’s government has overhauled the criminal justice system in the wake of the Delhi gang rape, including tougher sentences, but activists say little has changed. Anger over tougher laws failing to stem rising violence against women has sparked protests from doctors and women’s groups.
“Women make up the majority of our profession in this country. Time and time again we demand their safety,” IMA president RV Asokan told Reuters on Friday. IMA called for further legal measures to better protect health care workers Protection from violence and prompt investigation into Kolkata’s “brutal” crime.
Senior criminal investigator Shobha Gupta said: “Punishment is certainly necessary and it has to be very severe punishment, but at the same time the death penalty should be carried out and the culmination of punishment should happen. But that has not happened. occur.
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