Plaque held by a doctor | (Photo: PTI)
Junior doctors on Saturday partially returned to their work in various government-run hospitals in West Bengal after a 42-day hiatus.
They were ‘stopping work’ to protest the rape of a female doctor who was on duty at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
While returning to essential and emergency services in all government hospitals, doctors continue to avoid working in out-patient departments (OPDs).
“We have started joining work today. Our colleagues are returning to their departments for essential and emergency care, but not to OPDs. This is a partial resumption of work,” said Aniket Mahato, one of the protesting doctors.
Aniket, along with his colleagues Lahri Sarkar and Raktim Majumder, even operated on a female patient at the hospital.
He said some of their peers have already gone to flood-affected areas to establish Abhaya clinics (treatment camps), stressing their commitment to public health despite ongoing protests.
“The patients welcomed us, and it was as if we were coming home. We saw happiness in the eyes of our patients. A large number of people came to be treated in different hospitals in the province,” said a senior official of the government’s health department.
Emergency services are back to normal as doctors are returning to their jobs. “This is a big relief for us. Although we support their cause, it has been very difficult for ordinary patients like us to get treatment this past month because of the ‘outage’,” said Dipankar Jana, a patient at Bankura Medical. College and Hospital.
In flood-hit Panskura, Purba Medinipur district, several patients were seen flocking to the ‘Abhaya clinic.’
“We have received very good responses from these clinics. Many people have visited, and our colleagues have helped them. We are ready to provide 24/7 assistance, this is our commitment,” said Aheli Chowdhury, a junior doctor at one such clinic.
The doctors announced that they will wait seven days for the administration to meet their demands for justice for the deceased doctor and the dismissal of the country’s health secretary; otherwise, they would start another round of ‘work stoppages.’
The protests started on August 9, following the discovery of the body of a female doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The CBI, which is investigating the case, has arrested several people, including former hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, in connection with its investigation.
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First published: Sep 21 2024 | 11:50 p.m IST