KOLKATA: In a major escalation of the doctors’ protest in West Bengal, around 50 senior doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday tendered their resignations in solidarity with the medics who have been on a hunger strike demanding action on the 10-point agenda.
Their demands include security measures in hospitals, better working conditions, and systemic reforms in state-run hospitals.
The senior doctors who put in their papers on Tuesday include department heads. They said they took the step as “there has been no response from the appropriate authority to solve and to save our children from impending health disaster”.
The doctors claimed that medics from other prominent medical institutions such as SSKM and NRS may follow suit, further intensifying the pressure on the state government to act.
The junior doctors’ protest has gained significant momentum with their seniors joining the movement. However, the protests have badly hit healthcare services in the state. The mass resignations of senior doctors and the growing number of participants in the hunger strike have left the state’s health services in a precarious position.
The state government has promised to roll out safety and security measures by the first week of November. The doctors say their protests will continue till that is done.
Meanwhile, junior doctors will distribute leaflets outlining their demands for justice for their murdered colleague at Durga Puja pandals on Wednesday besides holding a blood donation camp. On Tuesday evening, junior and senior doctors staged two rallies in support of their fasting colleagues.