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Punjab: OPD services suspended as doctors protest Kolkata rape-murder
AIIMS, Bathinda, students and resident doctors demand better safety measures for women medicos on campus.
The outpatient department (OPD) services at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, and other public sector hospitals were suspended by doctors on Saturday in protest against the rape and murder of their woman colleague in Kolkata.
Medical students gathered in the reception area of the AIIMS in the morning with placards, demanding justice for the gruesome murder and safety measures for women staff in hospitals. The nursing staff of AIIMS also joined the protest.
Security guards at the entry gate of the institute on the Bathinda-Dabwali road did not allow patients to visit for OPD services on Saturday.
A doctor said on Friday that a section of agitated students demanded the suspension of OPD services but it was overturned fearing an adverse reaction from patients.
“AIIMS has an average daily footfall of 1,800-2,000 patients from various parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It would have created a serious law and order situation had the OPD services been suspended on Friday. It was decided that only emergency medical services will be held on Saturday as there was much public information about the pan-India suspension of OPD on Saturday,” said a senior faculty member at AIIMS, requesting anonymity.
A senior resident said that the students were concerned about issues related to women’s safety on the AIIMS campus in Bathinda and the authorities have been apprised of the matter. “In the absence of adequate hostel facility, medical students are forced to reside outside the campus. Women students have to commute at odd hours and there should be a shuttle bus service for students from different parts of Bathinda city to AIIMS. There is an urgent need to cover the entire campus under camera surveillance and security should be beefed up,” said the doctor.
Another member of the newly formed Association of Resident Doctors (ADR) said that the AIIMS administration should install mobile signal boosters as several parts of the OPD and inpatient department (IPD) lack functional signals.
“In case assistance is required, a hospital staffer may struggle due to poor cell phone signals. The hospital authorities should ensure that staff wear specific uniforms and prominently display their identity cards. We have demanded the hospital staff to issue tokens to the attendants of patients to ensure verification of authorised persons moving in the hospital building,” he added.
