As many as 260 resident doctors from the Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack and Fakir Mohan Medical College in Balasore have called on a one-day seize-work strike.
Barring Emergency Service, all other departments, including the indoor and outdoor services have been hit by the strike.
The strike is against the multiple postponement of the NEET PG 2021 counselling which led resident doctors across the country to launch protest, demanding to expedite the admission process. The protesting doctors said that they have been working without the help of juniors for almost a year and are finding it hard to manage patients.
A protesting doctor in Balasore, Jai Prakash Parida, said, “Due to delay in counselling, we have a shortage of 45000 doctors in several PG departments, making us and the PG second year doctors overburdened.”
“A PG student is supposed to prepare for exams apart from discharging his/her duty as a doctor. But with this shortage, we hardly get time for studies. All our time is devoted to patient care,” Parida added.
It is worthwhile to mention here that hundreds of MBBS graduates launched a protest at lower PMG Square in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday (Dec 8), alleging lack of government jobs for them in the State. The doctors raised slogans and alleged government apathy towards the rising trend of unemployment of doctors in Odisha.
The doctors alleged that despite attaining degrees from government-run colleges, they fail to secure a government job due to a dearth of vacancies for the general category.
The agitating doctors cited that after 2014, the government has not sanctioned adequate number of posts for eligible candidates in the general category while vacancies for the same are observed in the reserved category.
The hospital's doctors have refused to join duty without proper security.
Meanwhile, Additional District Medical Officer, Puri, Dr Basant Sahu is reportedly administering treatment to the patients at the casualty department due to the strike by doctors.
Ajay Sahu, relative of a patient, stated, "As doctors did not turn up, patients in the hospital are left to suffer."
On the other hand, the ADMO stated police should provide security to doctors at the hospital like it used to do earlier.
Reportedly on Tuesday, a patient's attendant attacked a doctor over some issues that sparked tension in the hospital.
Even though the state government had invoked the Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act (RESMA) in advance to stop the doctors from going on strike, the latter did do so and then went underground to avoid arrest.
All senior representatives of the All Rajasthan in Service Doctor Association (ARISDA) are untraceable and their phones switched off, leaving the patients to the mercy of God.
In complete absence of doctors, even emergency services remained unavailable in the hospitals. Biggest hospital of the state, SMS Medical College, also had no one to attend on patients. The services in the intensive care unit (ICU), indoor and outdoor patient departments were equally pathetic.
According to SMS Hospital Superintendent Dr. D.S. Meena, teaching faculties have been called to keep ICUs functional and ensure that emergency services were available to patients.
Informed sources said that SMS Medical College Principal Dr. U.S. Agrawal had convened a meeting on Monday with respective heads of departments to find a way out of the situation. In view of the dearth of doctors, a number of important surgeries had also been put off.
The government continues to arrest the striking doctors under RESMA. Around 65 doctors have been rounded up till now and raids are being conducted at doctors' houses to know the whereabouts of the underground doctors.
Meanwhile, the Bharatpur court has directed to take toughest action against the doctors arrested on Saturday. The Additional District Magistrate (ADM)'s court here ordered three of the doctors arrested on Saturday to deposit Rs 1.1 crore towards surety bonds for bail.
They were also produced before the Executive Magistrate under Section 107(16), according to which a person is bound to refrain from any illegal activities.
Dr. Manish Goyal, Dr. Mukesh Vashisth and Dr. Kaptan Singh were ordered by ADM's court judge Dinesh Jangid to bring five persons, owning property worth Rs 20 lakh each, and two government employees to guarantee that these arrested doctors did not join the strike.
He ordered that in case these doctors took part in strike, Rs 1 crore would be collected from each by impounding property of the five persons who had taken their guarantee. Also, Rs 50,000 each would be collected from two government employees, who had taken their guarantee.
These three doctors were arrested under Section 151 of the IPC for their plan to participate in an indefinite doctors' strike, which was scheduled to begin from Monday. After their arrest, they were produced in the court.
The state Health Ministry officials told IANS that the state government was taking all stringent actions against the doctors on strike to ensure that patients got quality medical aid and there were no sufferings inside the hospitals.
When asked if there had any plans to save inconvenience to patients on Tuesday, a senior official said: "We have already invoked RESMA in state. We are taking action against striking doctors and discussions are on to ensure that ailing patients get timely medical services."
However, he did not have to say much on "how does the government plan to tackle this crisis". "We have done everything possible and will see what next can be done," he added.
After entire healthcare system in West Bengal was crippled over the past four days, now doctors' in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities in India
especially AIIMS hospitals in the national capital, Raipur, Patna and Punjab are observing protest shutdown.
Resident doctors in several government hospitals in Kerala and Hyderabad also staged protests as they started their 'cease work' demonstrations in respective cities.
Around 4,500 Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) stopped attending to patients in all the 26 government hospitals in the state simultaneously on Friday.
MARD General Secretary Deepak Mundhe told IANS the doctors will keep off all routine duties between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and the hospital administration has been informed to ensure all other services are not hampered or patients inconvenienced.
A large number of doctors gathered outside the KEM Hospital with banners, posters to express solidarity with the doctors who were assaulted in Kolkata on Tuesday following the death of a patient in a state-run hospital.
Similar protests were also being held in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur by MARD members who are demanding adequate protection for their counterparts in West Bengal.
Senior and junior resident doctors of several government hospitals in the national capital on Friday also went on the one day token strike and boycotted work. Except for emergency services, there will be full shutdown of all outpatient departments (OPDs), routine operation theatre services and ward visits, the AIIMS association said.
Resident doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung hospitals carried bandages on their heads in a symbolic protest and suspended all non-emergency services. Only follow-up patients with a prior appointment were being registered at the OPDs.
Diagnostic services were also functioning in a restricted manner. Several resident doctors also held a protest at the Jantar Mantar against the brutal attack on a Kolkata intern.
Condemning the violence in Bengal, the AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) has urged all the RDAs across the country to join the token strike. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also asked members of all its state branches to stage protests and wear black badges on Friday.
Junior doctors in West Bengal are on a strike since Tuesday after two of their colleagues were attacked and seriously injured at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
In the wake of the strike, the AIIMS has instituted contingency measures to take care of the admitted patients, including those in the ICUs and wards.
Members of the AIIMS Resident Doctors Association (RDA), who resumed work on Saturday, said that if the demands of the West Bengal doctors are not met within 48 hours, they would be forced to resort to an indefinite strike.
"We condemn the hostile and unapologetic attitude of the government of West Bengal. Our protest at AIIMS, New Delhi continues until justice is meted out.
"According to the decision taken in a general body meeting held on June 14, RDA issues an ultimatum of 48 hours to the West Bengal government to meet the demands of the striking doctors there, failing which we would be forced to resort to an indefinite strike at AIIMS, New Delhi. We hope that our colleagues across the nation will join us in this hour of need," the AIIMS RDA said in a statement.
They expressed their gratitude to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for his prompt and proactive steps to resolve the impasse.
"We sincerely hope that he will address this matter of utmost importance with the urgency that it merits," they said.
Safdarjung Hospital RDA president Parakash Thakur also echoed a similar stand on the matter.
The doctors, however, will continue to wear helmets and bandages at work as a sign of protest .
The 48-hour ultimatum by AIIMS doctors comes days after Mamata Banerjee gave a four-hour ultimatum to the striking doctors in her state to withdraw their strike or vacate hostels.
To express solidarity with the doctors who are agitating against an attack on their colleagues in West Bengal, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a strike on June 17.
The IMA has also decided to continue their protest on Saturday and Sunday condemning the continued suffering of the resident doctors and repeated occurrence of harassments, it said.
These protests will include wearing black badges, dharnas, peace marches. IMA has also requested the support from all associations of the fraternity to join the agitation.
The apex body of doctors in the country also renewed its demand for a central law to check violence against healthcare workers in hospitals and said that the law should provide a minimum sentence of seven-year jail to violators.
Vardhan on Friday supported the medical fraternity's demand for a central law to check violence against healthcare workers in hospitals and said such crimes should be made non-bailable.
Scores of doctors in Delhi Friday held demonstrations, with many seeing patients in emergency wards wearing bandages on forehead or helmets, marching and raising slogans to express solidarity.
In an open letter to doctors and medical fraternity, she appealed to all help in restoring normal healthcare services without any delay.
"Our government is cooperating fully and taking all necessary action...some misinformation/disinformation being spread on social media by some political parties is completely untrue," Banerjee said in the letter.
She expressed her gratitude to senior doctors and professors who are offering full services to the people.
"My humble regards to them for their cooperation," the letter said.
"Health service is always dedicated to the patients. I, therefore, appeal to all to restore normal health services to the patients without any further delay," Banerjee said.
She said the state government has taken "all necessary action whatever required - our Additional Chief Secretary, Health, visited the injured doctor and met a section of the agitating junior doctors and appealed to them to resume services".
Protesting against the brutal attack on two junior doctors by the family members of a dead patient in the NRS Medical College and Hospital on Monday night, doctors across the state have stopped work at the outpatient departments in most government hospitals in the state since Wednesday.
Banerjee said five persons have been arrested and their bail prayers were rejected by the court and an enquiry has been started to look into issues from all sides.
"Our government has taken full care of the injured doctor. We pray that he recovers quickly. As per information received, he is stable and improving," she said.
"An unfortunate incident took place in NRS Hospital 4 days ago. I sent my colleague, Chandrima Bhattacharjee, Minister-of-State, Health and Family Welfare, to visit the injured doctor and talk to a section of the junior doctors who are agitating and request them to withdraw the agitation as people are not getting treatment... I sent Commissioner of Police, Kolkata to talk to the junior doctors," the letter said.
Cancer and kidney patients, accident victims, even children coming from distant places are suffering for not getting treatment, Banerjee said.
She said the state government is working to find a "peaceful solution" to the problem, and that it is ready to consider demands put forward by the doctors for their security inside hospitals.
"I have already appealed to everyone related to the medical fraternity to end the impasse for the sake of the ailing patients. I would again appeal to the junior doctors to end the agitation. We are always open to discussion," Banerjee said at the state secretariat, Nabanna.
"Yesterday (Friday) I had waited for talks with the junior doctors for nearly five hours, but they did not arrive. They told senior doctors that they would come today. So I along with my team of administrators waited for them. But they have not come today either. I would appeal everyone to join the work," she said.
Citing examples of several states such as Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu which had invoked ESMA to break the doctors' movement, Banerjee promised her government would not initiate any such administrative steps.
"So many states already used this Act because the profession of doctors is considered noble. Our government, too, has the provision. But we want to deal with the issue in a humanitarian and democratic way. So, we have neither invoked ESMA nor cancelled anybody's registration, or arrested anybody," she said.
When asked whether she would go to the NRS Medical College and Hospital, the epicentre of the doctor's movement, as per the demand of the agitators, Banerjee refused to answer.
"I will not tell you whether I will go somewhere or not. I think the state secretariat is the best place to hold a meeting with government officials in a democratic manner. I had gone to SSKM Hospital that day and waited for three hours, but no one came to talk to me," she said.
"One should respect institutions... when the government is calling them to hold a discussion, they continue to refuse... I wanted to talk to them over phone after the incident, but they refused to talk. Senior government officials also went to talk and asked them to come, but they refused," she alleged, adding all actions have been taken by the state administration.
Banerjee said a few "outsiders" with vested interest are trying to provoke the junior doctors and urged them not to fall in that trap.
"Some outsiders are trying to provoke. They are making one-sided comments. We have accepted all their demands and have taken all the necessary action. Please join the work because the patients are suffering. A number of children have died in the last few days," she added.
Sunday being a holiday, the out-patient departments remained closed and the number of patients waiting outside hospitals or visiting the emergency wards was also low. The emergency services, however, functioned normally.
The striking doctors across hospitals were looking forward to a General Body meeting to be held at the NRS Medical College and Hospital, the epicentre of the protests.
The meeting, which will decide the next course of action, will also be attended by representatives of other hospitals participating in the strike.
According to informed sources, the protesting doctors are probably looking for a scope of discussion to end the stalemate.
On Friday night, the striking doctors rejected Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's proposal for talks at the state Secretariat, instead asking her to come down to NRS Hospital.
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi wrote to Banerjee advising her to take immediate steps to provide security to the doctors and asking her to take them into confidence. She responded saying that the government was taking required action.
"The protest is not just about CCTV, armed security and iron gates. As a doctor, I know the difficulties faced by doctors due to lack of infrastructure at these hospitals," said Sayantan Bandopadhyay.
Bandopadhyay is relative of doctor Paribaha Mukherjee, who was attacked up by the kin of a 75-year-old patient who died, allegedly of medical negligence, at NRS Hospital late on Monday night.
The attack triggered off the strike by the doctors that has since brought medical services in the state to a standstill.
"I appeal the doctors to resume their work as I don't want innocent patients to die," said Mohammed Shabir, a relative of the deceased patient.
A 31-member team of junior doctors from all the state-run medical colleges in West Bengal held a meeting with Banerjee and senior state government officials at the secretariat Nabanna on Monday afternoon.
Listening to the demands and grievances of the doctors, Banerjee urged senior police officers present at the meeting to take stringent action against attacks on doctors.
She also asked the officers to appoint nodal officers at the hospitals in the state for the doctors' security.
"We thank all the citizens of India for coming in huge numbers to support the healthcare professionals. The fight is not over yet, a law for the protection of doctors is the need of the hour," IMA tweeted.
The tweet came after the doctors in West Bengal said they looked forward to withdraw the ongoing agitation following their meeting with state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday.
A vacation bench, comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant, said there was no urgency now in the case and it should be listed after the summer break before an appropriate bench.
Petitioner Alok Srivastava insisted the matter needed urgent attention, contending that effective measures have not been taken regarding doctors' safety and security at government hospitals.
The court rebutted, saying: "We are not against doctors' security but we cannot pass an order on it now."
Srivastava persisted on an urgent hearing on the matter and urged the court to issue a notice.
The court however, declined to entertain the matter, stating it cannot pass orders apprehending a situation.
"Tomorrow we pass an order nobody should be murdered?... We only pass orders which could be implemented," it said.
The court said it was well aware that security of doctors was paramount, but it cannot pass an order at the cost of others.
The counsel representing the Indian Medical Association (IMA) contended that doctors' safety and security is an extremely important issue, and "we seek a central legislation on this matter, although some states have laws".
The court replied: "We need a holistic view on the matter" and listed it for regular hearing.
A PIL was filed on June 14 seeking direction for the Centre and the West Bengal government to provide a secure environment for doctors to perform their duties.
A junior doctor at NRS Hospital in Kolkata was attacked on June 10 by relatives of a patient who had died in the hospital, allegedly due to medical negligence, triggering protests by doctors in West Bengal.
On June 14, several doctors boycotted work across the country as a sign of solidarity with their counterparts in West Bengal.
The petition cited media reports of the brutal attack on the junior doctor identified as Paribaha Mukherjee who sustained severe injuries.
The petition cited a study by the IMA, stating that more than 75 per cent of doctors across the country have faced some form of violence. This study concluded that 50 per cent violent incidents took place in the Intensive Care Unit of hospitals, and in 70 per cent of the cases, the relatives of the patients were involved.
Srivastava said the petition has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. He claimed that it was his public duty to move the apex court and seek its urgent intervention to address issues which led to the strike and protests by doctors of various medical colleges and hospitals across India.
The petition sought government-appointed uniformed security personnel at every government hospital in India for the safety and security of the doctors. It also demanded strict action against the perpetrators of the attack on the doctor in West Bengal.
In the aftermath of the Kolkata incident, junior doctors in several states reportedly boycotted work affecting medical services in various parts of the country.
The strike was called off on Monday.
As a mark of protest against the Bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a nationwide 24-hour withdrawal of non-essential services.
Demonstrations and hunger strikes will be held in all states. The IMA has asked medical students to boycott classes in solidarity.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) and the Resident Doctors Association (RDA), AIIMS, have asked members to wear black badges.
"The Bill if not amended will only lead to a deterioration in the standards in medical education but will also lead to degradation of healthcare services," an RDA statement said.
The non-essential services including OPDs will be shut from 6 a.m. on Wednesday till 6 a.m. on Thursday. Emergency, casualty, ICU and related services will function normally.
"Section 32 of the NMC Bill provides for licensing of 3.5 lakh unqualified non-medical persons to practise modern medicine. The term Community Health Provider has been vaguely defined to allow anyone connected with modern medicine to get registered in NMC and be licensed to practise modern medicine," said R.V. Asokan, Secretary General, IMA.
"This would mean that all paramedics including pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, optometrists and others are becoming eligible to practise modern medicine and prescribe independently. This law legalizes quackery," said Asokan.
Resident doctors have threatened to continue the strike for an indefinite period if the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill is tabled and passed in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Resident doctors will refrain from working in OPDs, emergency departments and ICUs as a mark of protest.
Amid widespread protests by the medical fraternity, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in a tweet on Wednesday night said he would table the NMC bill for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
He also assured countrymen that the "historic" bill, if passed, would bring "mega changes in the medical education sector".
The bill, which seeks to replace the graft-tainted Medical Council of India (MCI), had got the nod of Lok Sabha on July 29.
Dr Sumedh Sandanshiv, president, Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA), charged that the bill was "anti-poor, anti-student and undemocratic".
Resident Doctors' Associations (RDA) of the AIIMS, RML and some other hospitals in the city had given notices to the respective administrations regarding the strike on Wednesday.
Several Delhi government hospitals too have joined the the stir on the call of FORDA.
"OPD services are closed and no new cards will be made for any patients. Services are expected to be hit in emergency department too, but we will try to manage," LNJP MS Dr Kishore Singh told PTI.
LNJP is the largest facility under the Delhi government.
Resident doctors at AIIMS will hold a demonstration on Thursday and march towards Parliament in the afternoon.
Following the strike notice, several hospital authorities have put in place contingency plans for the smooth functioning of healthcare services as a part of which emergency services will function with the help of sponsored residents/pool officers and faculty members.
"In addition, faculty members of other medical/surgical departments wherever applicable will also be deployed in the emergency. Further ICUs will also be managed with the help of sponsored residents/pool officers and faculty members.
"Inpatient (general and private) wards patient care services, labour room and maternity operation theatre (OT) and support services will function normally and will be supervised by the faculty of hospital administration concerned," according to the contingency plan drawn by AIIMS.
While the out patient department (OPD), dialysis, radio-diagnosis and laboratory diagnosis services are scheduled to function on a restricted basis, routine operation theatre services will largely remain suspended on Friday, the authorities said.
Emergency cases of operations will be taken up as per requirement while for routine OT services patients will be taken up for surgery as per feasibility and mutual agreement between concerned faculty of surgery and anaesthesiology.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has also expressed reservations over several sections of the bill, had given a call for a 24-hour withdrawal of non-essential services on Wednesday across the country.
It has warned in a statement that it will intensify the agitation if the government continues to be "indifferent to our concerns".
At a joint meeting of representatives of the FORDA, the URDA and the RDA-AIIMS held on Tuesday, it was resolved to oppose the NMC Bill, 2019 in its current form.
"It is to inform all concerned that a gross breach of medical ethics and utter disregard for the noble profession in the form of the NMC Bill has been passed in Lok Sabha and is also scheduled to be tabled in Rajya Sabha."
"The provisions of the said bill are nothing short of draconian and promote gross incompetence and mockery of professionals currently working day and night and sacrificing their youth for this broken system."
"If it is tabled in its current form in Rajya Sabha without any amendments, the medical fraternity across the country will be forced to resort to extreme measures, which may hamper healthcare services nationwide. We will withdraw from essential and non-essential services from hospitals for an indefinite period," the AIIMS RDA, the FORDA and the Untied-RDA said in a joint statement.
The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday even as thousands of doctors protested against it across the country.
It provides for setting up of a National Medical Commission in place of the MCI for development and regulation of all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions.
The fraternity claims that the bill will encourage quackery.
Doctors are demanding certain amendments in the bill. According to them, if not amended, the bill will lead to deterioration of medical education and degradation of healthcare services.
They are objecting to section 45 of the bill, which, they claim, empowers the Union government to override any suggestion of the National Medical Commission.
"The autonomy and pride of the entire medical fraternity has been surrendered to whims and fancies of politicians and bureaucrats even as the Union health minister is a doctor himself," AIIMS RDA president Amarinder Singh Malhi and president of its students' union Mukul Kumar had said in a joint statement.