Kolkata: The Indian Medical Association or IMA has announced a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency medical services for 24 hours beginning at 6am on Saturday, August 17, to protest against the brutal rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
On Friday, the IMA put forth five demands, including a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors and a central law to check violence against healthcare professionals at workplaces.
The IMA demanded a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, including the 36-hour duty shift that the RG Kar hospital victim was in and the lack of safe spaces to take a rest.
The IMA pushed for a central act that would incorporate the amendments made in 2023 to the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 into the proposed Hospital Protection Bill of 2019. This move, it believes, would strengthen the existing legislation in 25 states. The IMA has also suggested that an ordinance similar to the one enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic would be appropriate in this situation.
The doctors’ body also called for meticulous and professional investigation of the crime in a specific time-frame and rendering of justice besides identifying those involved in the vandalism of the RG Kar hospital premises on night of August 14 and awarding exemplary punishment.
It also said the security protocols of all hospitals should be no less than an airport. Declaring the hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements is the first step. CCTV cameras, deployment of security personnel and the protocols can follow, the IMA stated.
The association sought an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.
The IMA has announced a 24-hour withdrawal of services by all modern medicine doctors across the country, regardless of their sector or place of work.
While emergency services and casualties will continue to function, there will be no outpatient departments (OPDs) or elective surgeries during this period.
Thousands of doctors marched through various cities across the country on Friday to protest the rape and murder of the 31-year-old trainee doctor, demanding justice and better security at medical campuses and hospitals.
