Kolkata rape-murder: Protesting doctors offer free 'OPD services' outside Health Ministry office

No breakthrough in talks with govt

New Delhi: Medics staged a symbolic protest on Monday by offering free elective outpatient services on the road outside the Health Ministry office in Nirman Bhawan here on the eighth day of their ongoing strike over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata even as there was no breakthrough in talks with the government.

Protesting doctors sat on the road with sheets of paper showing their names and specialisations like ORTHO OPD, Neurology OPD and Psychiatry OPD.

The doctors' strike will continue, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) said, adding the meeting between a delegation of doctors and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Monday concluded without reaching an agreement.

"We are now awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court for further direction on this matter," it said. The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter suo motu on Tuesday.

FAIMA president Rohan Krishnan told PTI, "We are fighting for the safety of female doctors so they can work freely in hospitals again and for justice to the victims." About Monday's protest outside the health ministry, Krishnan said, "We are fighting for the implementation of the safety act. In the past few days, we have seen claims that patients are being ignored, which has disappointed us."

"All hospital emergency services are functioning, and faculty members and doctors are continuing to provide care. That's why we decided to operate the OPD from here, so we can treat people in need." However, he added that "no patients have shown up during this time".

The demands of the protesting doctors include a fast and transparent investigation by the CBI into the tragic incident, a Central Protection Act for safety of health workers, and the implementation of safer conditions and security improvement measures in all institutes and medical colleges.

A doctor sitting on the road to check on patients said, "At the hospital, there is no safety or protection. At least here, we have police around us, so we can treat patients here. We have no option but to fight for ourselves as nobody is doing anything besides offering us sympathy and assurances." Around 300 to 400 people gathered at Nirman Bhawan, holding flags and placards and wearing white aprons stained with red and black colours.

"We want the CBI to catch the culprits and for the court to impose the maximum punishment. We urge the government to ensure that no such incidents occur in the future. Violence against doctors is increasing, and we want the Act passed to ensure the safety of healthcare workers," Dr. Ansar said.

Dr. Prashasti said that females are scared while working. "We need a safety protection act so we can feel safe at the workplace, as nobody should have to feel what she went through while working. This brutality has left a mark on our hearts and minds. We need something to help us truly work again, or we cannot continue." The doctors' strike in the national capital over the rape and murder of a medic at a state-run hospital in Kolkata is now entering its second week.

"We doctors have been protesting here for eight days, and nothing has changed so far. We will not stop; the strike will continue until the Central Protection Act (CPA) is implemented," said one of the protesting doctors.

Late Sunday, resident doctors announced that their strike would continue and decided to provide elective OPD services in around 36 specialities, including medicine, surgery, obstetrics & gynaecology, paediatrics, ophthalmology, and orthopaedics, to patients outside Nirman Bhawan.