Guwahati doctors support nationwide strike against assaults on health professionals
GUWAHATI, June 14 - Expressing solidarity with the nationwide strike on the issue of violence against doctors in West Bengal, the Guwahati unit of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has demanded stringent laws to ensure security of doctors and other healthcare providers in hospitals across the country.
The IAP unit has condemned the unprovoked and murderous attack on doctors of NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata by relatives of a diseased person that stirred protests among the medical professionals across the nation with doctors of Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Delhi and several other parts of the country joining the strike.
IAP, Guwahati said that though they would not go on a strike as of now and register their protest wearing black badges to work, the possibility of a total strike cannot be ruled out if the government does not take action in the matter.
The protest that started in West Bengal has spread across the country with the Indian Medical Association and AIIMS joining the stir.
Dr Devajit Kumar Sarma, president of the Guwahati branch of IAP told The Assam Tribune that all the 125 members of the paediatrics association of Guwahati engaged in different public and private sector hospitals have expressed their solidarity with the cause.
�Mob violence against doctors has become a common phenomenon now, with several such incidents reported from the State and other parts of the North East as well. Doctors try their best to treat the patients, but they are not God. If the doctors are under constant pressure and threat due to such incidents, it will be difficult for them to discharge their duties properly and it would ultimately affect the healthcare services,� Dr Sarma said.
�People might have some complaint against some of the doctors. If there is negligence on the part of the doctors of other medical professionals, the affected persons can approach the police, court, consumer court, medical board, etc. Mob violence in hospital and assaulting the doctors and hospital staff are never acceptable,� he added.
Demanding stringent action against the perpetrators of the crime in Kolkata, the association has also asked the government to provide protection to doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers when they discharge their duties.
Doctors in several city-based hospitals today expressed their solidarity with the medical fraternity and condemned the recent ongoing violence against doctors in certain parts of the country.
The doctor fraternity at Excelcare Hospitals wore black badges as a symbolic protest, in support to the call issued by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Wednesday regarding the same.
�We condemn the violence and stand in solidarity with the medical fraternity. We urge all parties to observe restraint so that this burning issue is resolved quickly and essential patient services can continue un-disrupted� the management of Excelcare Hospitals stated in a press release.
Doctors at the GNRC Hospitals also observed a symbolic protest by wearing black badges.
