NEW DELHI: The junior doctors in West Bengal resumed their indefinite and total ‘cease work’ protest, alleging that the state government failed to fulfil their demands. They have been demanding that the West Bengal government address various issues, including the need for enhanced safety and security in hospitals.
The doctors had earlier partially resumed their duties on September 21, following a 42-day protest against the rape and murder of an on-duty woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
“We do not see any positive approach from the state government to fulfill our demands for safety and security. Today is the 52nd day of the protest and we are still being attacked. There is no attempt to keep the other promises made during the meetings with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In the given situation, we are left with no choice other than opting for full ‘cease work’, starting today,” said Aniket Mahato, one of the agitating junior doctors.
Additionally, the junior doctors called for a march from College Square to Esplanade in central Kolkata on Wednesday and invited people to join them.
They also expressed hopelessness at the “tardiness” of the CBI probe into the rape-murder of the RG Kar Hospital medic. The said that their primary demand was to ensure justice for victim of the brutal crime, which should be fulfilled promptly without any further delay or prolonged legal proceedings.
“We realised just how slow the CBI’s investigation is. We have seen many times before that the CBI has been unable to reach any conclusions, allowing the real culprits of such incidents to go free due to delays in filing charges. The Supreme Court has instead only postponed hearings and reduced the actual length of proceedings. We are disappointed and angered by this protracted judicial process,” the doctors said in their statement.
Among their other nine demands, the medics urged for the immediate removal of the health secretary from his position, holding the health department accountable for administrative incompetence and corruption.
They also called for the establishment of a centralized referral system in all hospitals and medical colleges across the state, along with the implementation of a digital bed vacancy monitoring system and the formation of task forces to ensure the necessary arrangements for CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms.
The medics highlighted the importance of increasing police protection in hospitals, recruiting permanent female police personnel, and immediately filling all vacant positions for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers.
The junior doctors also called for an immediate inquiry into the rampant corruption and lawlessness within the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) and the West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB).
The ‘total cease work’ has crippled healthcare services at all state-run medical colleges and hospitals on Tuesday and senior doctors have been deployed to IPDs, OPDs, and emergency services to deal with the situation, according to a health department official.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress made by the West Bengal government in installing CCTVs and constructing toilets and separate resting rooms in government medical colleges.
The apex court, hearing a suo motu case related to the rape and murder of a postgraduate medic at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, directed the state to complete the ongoing work by October 15. The bench, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said that no part of the work carried out by the state government was above 50 per cent completion.