NEW DELHI: Intensifying the protest against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, resident doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, GTB Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College decided to shut their OPD services on Thursday.The NMC Bill, scheduled to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, seeks to replace the graft-tainted Medical Council of India (MCI). The Bill also proposes a common final-year MBBS examination, known as National Exit Test (NEXT), for admission to post-graduate medical courses and for obtaining a license to practice medicine.
On Wednesday, Indian Medical Association (IMA) had called for a nationwide strike in which majority of the Delhi based hospitals did not participate stating that they would protest on the next day. “Withdrawal of Resident Doctors from all hospital services from 8 am on August 1, 2019 if our demands of amendment of certain provisions of the NMC Bill are not met and the bill is tabled in the current form,” said a statement issued by RDA AIIMS.
“Gross breach of medical ethics and utter disregard for the noble profession in the form of NMC Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha. RDA GTBH and UCMS in solidarity with FORDA and entire medical fraternity is announcing the withdrawal of all non-essential services from 8.am,” said a statement by GTB Hospital.
Safdarjung Hospital RDA said that the doctors would not participate in any sort of services including the emergency services and would go on an indefinite strike if the demands are not fulfilled. This is the second such major protest by the doctors within a span of just two months. Earlier in June, doctors went on strike against the attack on a doctor in Kolkata’s NRS Hospital.