IMA’s 24-hour shutdown of OPD, elective surgery receives 'overwhelming' response from doctors
NEW DELHI: As hundreds of angry resident doctors on Friday laid siege to Nirman Bhavan, the health ministry headquarters, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said it is firm on a 24-hour shut down of OPD and elective surgeries on Saturday to protest the brutal rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor in Kolkata.
The IMA, the most prominent doctors’ organisation in the country, said they have received overwhelming responses from not only doctors running small private clinics but also from those working in big corporate hospitals.
Speaking with this paper, IMA President Dr R V Asokan said, “IMA has declared 24-hour withdrawal of services by all the modern medicine doctors of the country irrespective of the sector and place of work. Emergencies and casualties will function. No OPDs. No elective surgeries.”
He said 70 per cent of their members have agreed to cease work on Saturday from 6 am to 6 am on Sunday. IMA has nearly 4 lakh members.
“We ask for the understanding and support of the nation in this struggle for justice for its doctors and daughters. It has become a national movement. Not only doctors but everyone is outraged by the way the brutal rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor, who was on duty, took place in the hospital complex,” he said.
He said at the policy level, there is a reluctance to acknowledge the violence against doctors, and it has to change.
“The draft for the central law protecting healthcare workers is already ready. If it wants and shows political will, the government can immediately implement it. There is no need for setting up another committee. Just like during COVID-19, the government can come out with an ordinance,” he added.
Among the first to announce their participation in the 24-hour strike was the faculty association of AIIMS, Delhi, which said that they have unanimously decided that apart from emergency medical services, including casualty, emergency IT, ICU and wards, no routine hospital services (OPD/OT/Laboratory) will function on Saturday in solidarity with the medical fraternity.
Noted disability rights champion and Director Professor of the Department of Physiology, University College of Medical Sciences and G.T.B Hospital, Dr Satendra Singh, said he, along with other faculty members, nurses and hospital staff, took out a solidarity walk in a strong show of solidarity with the protesting resident doctors.
Stating that they stand in unwavering solidarity with healthcare providers across the nation, Apollo Hospitals, in a statement said, “Women comprise a significant majority of our workforce, playing crucial roles at every level of our organization. We are committed to ensuring their safety and dignity, with a strict zero-tolerance policy for any form of violence or abuse.”
Both Fortis and Max said they would support those doctors who wished to participate in the nationwide shutdown. The Association of Medical Consultants (AMC), which has over 15,000 specialists from public and private hospitals, also expressed their support.
The Healthcare Federation of India (NATHEALTH) said they extend full solidarity to the medical professionals.
Dr Neelam Lekhi, former president of the IMA East Delhi branch and senior consultant radiologist, told this paper, “We have a slogan Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the girl child, educate the girl child), but here in this case the daughter studied and became a doctor, but she was not saved. We demand swift action and safety for women doctors, nurses, and female patients. If a woman doctor is not safe, then no one is safe.”
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW), which took a sou moto cognisance of the rape and murder said their two-member inquiry committee had uncovered lapses in security, infrastructure, and investigation.
It also said there was no adequate protection or safety for on-call female duty interns, nurses, and female doctors, and it pointed to tampering of evidence.
Meanwhile the resident doctors, who stood outside Nirman Bhavan for hours, raising slogans, waving placards, and even braving heavy rain, said they would continue their fight for justice till they receive a written assurance from the health minister for a central law for their protection.
