RG Kar docs to continue cease work till CBI files its report on Thursday

Kolkata: Protesting doctors in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday evening decided that their cease work will continue till the CBI files its report at the Supreme Court on Thursday.

“The cease work will continue. The final decision will be taken on Thursday after the CBI submits its report relating to the probe of the alleged rape and murder of post graduate trainee doctor to the Supreme Court,” said a doctor in RG Kar Medical. Health services across the country have been hit as doctors’ strikes enter their 10th day.

Protesting junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College said they will not end their strike until they see the outcome of the status reports from the CBI and the state government. They intend to use these reports to determine their next course of action. The Supreme Court has urged doctors to resume their duties amid nationwide strikes by medics against the rape and murder of a woman doctor at a Kolkata hospital. The absence of doctors affects the section of society that needs medical care, said the bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud. “If conditions return to normal at this hospital and doctors come back, this would have an impact on the rest of the hospitals (across the country),” the bench observed.

The CJI stated: “We request all the doctors who are abstaining from work across the country to resume their duties at the earliest. The ongoing abstention affects those segments of society who require medical care the most and need access to essential services.”

The CJI assured the protesting doctors and medical professionals that their concerns are being given serious attention.

The IMA on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s intervention to halt attacks on medical professionals and announced that it will collaborate with the committee appointed by the court on issues related to safety and security. The IMA also emphasized that a “central Act on violence is non-negotiable.” Meanwhile, the Union health ministry has approved a 25 per cent enhancement in security deployment at central hospitals, in response to doctors’ demands to ensure safety.