NEW DELHI: One year after the RG Kar Medical College tragedy and the nationwide strike it triggered, doctors say the promises made in its wake have failed to translate into real change.
The concerns that brought thousands of medical professionals to the streets—unsafe working conditions, long duty hours and poor enforcement of protection laws—remain unresolved. The recent assault on doctors and security staff at AIIMS Patna by a sitting MLA has, they say, once again exposed the vulnerability of healthcare workers.
“Despite laws in place, weak implementation continues to leave doctors exposed to threats and violence. The demand for secure, respectful and humane working environments has never been more urgent,” said Dr Indra Shekhar, former president, AIIMS Delhi
Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) and member of the Joint RDA Action Front that led the agitation in Delhi. Dr Rohan Krishnan, chief patron, FAIMA, said both the Centre and the West Bengal government had made specific assurances after the RG Kar incident, including better safety arrangements in hospitals.
“Those promises were never fulfilled. The rising violence against doctors, especially women doctors, is deeply worrying. Medical education today has a large number of women, and because this is an emergency service, they must work night shifts and move through high-risk areas—wards with psychiatric patients, those from vulnerable socioeconomic backgrounds, and even patients with criminal histories. That makes adequate security not just important, but essential,” he said.
Krishnan stressed that the safety of women doctors, nurses and paramedical staff must be treated as a top priority. “It was promised that marshals and armed guards would be deployed in government hospitals with more than 300 beds and over 50,000 patients a day. The Delhi government made this commitment as well, and it has not been kept. In Bengal too, incidents of harassment are frequent,” Dr Rohan said.