Expressing deep concern over the “deteriorating health” of junior doctors who are on an indefinite hunger strike for the last four days, senior doctors and faculty members at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College & Hospital on Tuesday sent en masse resignation letter to the Director of Medical Education.
“The government seems to be oblivious of the deteriorating condition of the (junior) doctors on hunger strike. If the situation demands, we will begin to resign individually,” said a senior doctor at the state-run hospital.
In the wake of the August 9 rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at RG Kar hospital, junior doctors in the state went on a total “cease work”. They called off their strike on October 4 and launched an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday.
The resignation letter, signed by over 34 senior doctors, read: “We, the undersigned doctors of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, have been striving to provide optimal hospital services. However, the current conditions have made it increasingly challenging to deliver the quality of patient care that is essential. The health of the protesting doctors who are currently on hunger strike, is deteriorating tremendously fast. We request the government to come into reconciliation with the protesting doctors and the ones who are sitting in an indefinite hunger strike immediately. We senior doctors of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital are giving mass resignation.”
On Monday, a group of senior doctors also joined the hunger strike in solidarity with their juniors, who are demanding safety and security at the workplace, justice for the deceased colleague, immediate removal of Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam, and action against alleged corruption in the department among others.
“The unwavering support of our seniors since day one is truly commendable. By resigning en masse, they have sent a powerful message,” said Kinjal Nanda, a protesting junior doctor.
“We couldn’t have come this far without the support of our senior doctors,” said Abid Hassan, another junior doctor at Esplanade where his colleagues are on hunger strike.
“Even during our cease work, the seniors pitched in with extra hours of duty and kept the hospital services normal as far as possible. We are not against patients, but we are fighting for a cause and want to clean the system. This mass resignation is definitely a welcome step,” he added.
Another junior doctor expressed anguish over what he claimed was the government’s “indifference” towards their demands.
“Even after 68 hours of our hunger strike, the government is not taking any steps. Therefore, the senior doctors of RG Kar have resigned. Doctors from other hospitals will also start sending mass resignation letters. This will hopefully further create pressure on the government,” said Sayan Mandal, another protesting junior doctor.
Meanwhile, senior doctors of the Calcutta National Medical College also warned of mass resignation if the demands of the protesting medics were not met.
On Monday, the government urged the protesting junior doctors to end their hunger strike and resume duty, assuring to complete the installation of CCTV cameras in all the medical colleges in the state in the next three days.
Chief Secretary Manoj Pant said the state government was fully committed to providing a safe workplace and urged the protesting medics to see the government’s actions in a “positive light”. The chief secretary also said that a panic button or an alarm system will be installed in state-run medical institutions, as demanded by the protesting junior doctors, by November 1, and announced to launch a pilot project of a “referral system” on October 15.
“We have no differences and we are doing these in a positive manner. We are requesting junior doctors to see all these things (actions taken by the government) in a positive light and end the hunger strike. We are requesting junior doctors to join work. I must say that many of them have already resumed duty. The rest of them should also return to work as soon as possible,” Pant had said at a press conference on Monday.
On Tuesday evening, doctors from various medical colleges and hospitals, both state-run and private, joined two rallies to support their junior colleagues. One rally began at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, while the other started from the SSKM Hospital.
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