Doctors Across India Wear Helmets & Bandages, Demand A Safe Workplace

A 75-year-old patient named Md Sayeed was admitted to Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata for a heart attack. On the night of 10 June, he suffered another attack and passed away. The Times of India reports that the patient’s kin blamed the death on the medical negligence of doctors. Tensions escalated when more people (around 200) arrived and beat up the doctors and hit them with bricks, injuring them severely.

Following the violent incident, doctors went on strike and asked for action against the attackers and adequate security arrangements. Medical personnel across the country have joined in the protests by wearing black bands.

Karnataka: Doctors hold protest in Bengaluru over violence against doctors in West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/NWdQrK6Dr0

— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2019

Doctors at AIIMS, New Delhi, attended to patients wearing helmets and bandages as a mark of solidarity with their colleagues in West Bengal.

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RDA (Resident Doctors Association) of AIIMS is on strike today and healthcare services have been severely affected.

https://twitter.com/Ashish2Joshi/status/1139183663805976577

According to HuffPost India, doctors of Chhattisgarh’s Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital are demanding a safe workplace and the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors is also on strike.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) in its official statement said that they are demanding a Central law that prevents any kind of violence against medical personnel. They have called for a nationwide strike on Monday. India Today reports that 108 doctors in NRS Hospital, Kolkata have resigned.

We sincerely hope that their demands are met, the attackers apprehended and healthcare services are restored as soon as possible.

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