Kolkata: The agitating junior doctors on Wednesday held their second meeting with the state on their demands on the infrastructure and security upgrade at hospitals and an end to the “threat culture”. Lingering the ongoing impasse, the doctors said they were unable to resume duty without documented commitment on their demands that include security and enhancing amenities for resident doctors.
The WBJDF’s Wednesday approach to the govt for the meeting followed a close to five-hour deliberation on partial resuming of work on Tuesday night.While many were keen on resuming emergency services, a section disagreed saying that the decision be taken after a meeting with officials.
Accordingly, the WBJDF wrote to chief secretary Manoj Pant on Wednesday morning seeking a meeting. The mail also mentioned the intention of discussing formulation and functioning of the special task force to look into their demands.
Even as Pant agreed to the meeting in his reply by 2.50 pm asking the WBJDF team to reach Nabanna by 6.15 pm, junior doctors reached the venue late by about an hour. Pant had also informed the doctors that the administration was busy with the flood situation in Bengal.
Their other demands included adequate security, robust patient referral system, centrally monitored real-time bed vacancy in hospitals, appointment of permanent healthcare workers, removal of non-medical persons from the post of assistant super, appointment of professional counsellors to facilitate better doctor-patient interaction, holding of student union polls, setting up of resident doctor associations in all colleges, formation of ICC in each hospital and uprooting threat culture.
“Until there is a documented commitment, we are unable to take a call on ending cease-work,” a WBJDF member said before leaving for the meeting.
Even as they headed to Nabanna, the gathering at Salt lake had thinned by Wednesday. Most representatives from colleges from the periphery who had been camping there since Sept 10 went back to their campuses. “Most were hopeful of an announcement on partial lifting of cease-work by Tuesday night. Since it didn’t happen, many left for their colleges,” said a junior doctor.
“We have been on cease-work for 40-odd days. We need to think about a more sustainable mode of agitation,” said another junior doctor.