There is a lot of anger in the whole country over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, which has taken the form of a big protest. The Indian Medical Association has announced to close OPD services for 24 hours from 6 am on Saturday, 17 August, in protest against the murder.
Doctors will be on strike from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday. During this time, an appeal has been made to keep OPD and regular surgeries closed in hospitals. Apart from small private hospitals, nursing homes, doctors will also be on strike in corporate hospitals.
IMA demands major changes in hospitals
Meanwhile, amid the strike, the IMA on Friday placed five demands before the government. These demands include changes in the working and living conditions of resident doctors and making a central law to investigate violence against doctors at workplaces.
Let us know what are the five main demands of the Indian Medical Association?
- The IMA has demanded drastic changes to the working and living conditions of resident doctors. This includes 36-hour duty shifts and a lack of safe places to rest.
- The IMA has pushed for a central act that will incorporate the amendments made in the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 in 2023 into the proposed Hospital Protection Bill of 2019. The association believes that this move will strengthen the existing laws in 25 states. The IMA has also suggested that an ordinance similar to the one implemented during Corona would be appropriate in this situation.
- The doctors’ organization has demanded justice along with a careful and professional investigation of the crime within a fixed time frame. Apart from this, IMA has also demanded to identify and give strict punishment to those who vandalized the hospital campus by doing RG on the night of 14 August.
- IMA demands that the security protocols of all hospitals should be no less than that of an airport. The first step is to declare hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security rights. CCTV cameras, deployment of security personnel and protocols should be followed.
- IMA has demanded fair and respectable compensation to the victim’s family.