VIJAYAWADA: Members of Indian Medical Association (IMA) staged token demonstrations at hospitals across the state protesting the attacks on doctors. They also put forth certain demands to the state government.Wearing black dresses and sporting black badges, the doctors and other health staff staged protests and raised slogans. At some places, they even submitted memorandums to the local MLAs.
According to IMA-State president elect Dr C Srinivasa Raju, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health, responding to the IMA protests, wrote to the state governments asking them to take measures to protect doctors and prevent attacks against them.
He said that in the memorandums submitted to the government officials and representatives in Andhra Pradesh on Friday, the main demands included withdrawal of GO 57 regarding oxygen plants and concentrators as it was not viable due to cost factor and space constraint, withdrawal of cases registered against doctors and hospitals regarding COVID irregularities, criminal cases against those who physically attacked doctors and ransacked hospitals, enhancement of COVID-19 treatment charges by 300 per cent, and exemption from property taxes.