Resident doctors demonstrate against Kolkata hospital violence
New Delhi: Scores of doctors at several government and private hospitals in Delhi held demonstrations on Friday by boycotting work, marching and raising slogans to express solidarity with their protesting colleagues in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, a group of doctors also met Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and apprised him about the medical fraternity's demand of ensuring safety and security of doctors in face of any violence in hospital premises. Vardhan has assured the doctors that he will look into their demands. Doctors under the banner of the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) held out marches in the AIIMS campus on Friday, with many wearing bandages on forehead or helmets.
Several doctors Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College and Delhi government hospitals, Lok Nayak Jayaprakash (LNJP) Hospital, Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, DDU Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, and private hospital like Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Friday also joined the stir.
"Yes, doctors at LNJP Hospital have joined the protest in solidarity with colleagues in Bengal. The OPD is shut, and only emergency department is functioning. The hospital OPD's average footfall on a regular day is about 9,000. But, today only about 2,000 has visited," the hospital's Medical Superintendent, Dr Kishore Singh, said. He said patient services will get affected as this is the Delhi government's biggest hospital, but, as fellow doctors, a stand has been taken to show support. At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the private OPD was closed for today as a mark of solidarity, officials said.
The resident doctors associations of G B Pant and Guru Nanak Hospital, associated with the Maulana Azad Medical College have also joined the protest.
Expressing the solidarity, around 500 doctors under the banner of Delhi Medical Association has marched to Rajghat. Dr Girish Tyagi President, DMA said that association strongly condemns the violence on the doctors. Entire medical fraternity expresses our solidarity with the residents who are on strike.
He also added that if no action has been taken in this regards, we will be forced to escalate our protest.
