[Watch] ‘Elective Services’ In Hospitals Across India May Be Hit Tomorrow, Know Why?

New Delhi: The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) announced nationwide halting of ‘elective services’ in hospitals on Monday in solidarity with the doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, who are protesting against the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor on the hospital premises.

The association communicated the same to the Union Health Minister through a letter. It also urged resident doctors’ associations and medical associations to join the protest. They demanded that the protesting doctors shouldn’t be subjected to police brutality and manhandling. They also demanded the

Union government to release and enforce a mandated protocol for the safety of healthcare workers in all hospitals across the country.
Besides, they pressed their demand for formation of an expert committee comprising representatives from the medical fraternity to expedite ratifying the Central Healthcare Protection Act. They also demanded speedy justice and compensation for the victim’s family.

The demands of the RG Kar residents must be heard and implemented, it stated.
Earlier, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had warned of nationwide protests if the culprits responsible for the rape and murder of the doctor were not arrested within 48 hours.

Waves of protests had engulfed RG Kar all through Saturday. The protests extended to several other government hospitals in Bengal. Junior doctors, house staff and interns on other campuses, including at nodal Kolkata hospitals like NRS, Medical College and Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, ceased work and staged demonstrations to demand better security and safety of doctors.

Protesters at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata raised safety concerns, citing the absence of CCTV in sensitive areas, tout rackets, inadequate restrooms for on-call doctors, and poor screening of outsiders, following the rape and murder of a woman doctor. #Kolkata pic.twitter.com/Etef693jtE

— Beats in Brief (@beatsinbrief) August 11, 2024

The junior doctor was found dead inside the seminar hall of the state-run hospital on Friday. The autopsy report, which was available on Saturday, revealed that the woman was sexually assaulted before being killed, having bled from private parts with injury marks on other parts of her body as well. Kolkata Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), including members of homicide department, to probe the incident and arrested one civic volunteer, identified as Sanjay Roy.