Hospitals in Gautam Budh Nagar to join protest, services to be affected today

All government and private hospitals will remain shut for 24 hours on Saturday, except for essential services, IMA Noida president said

NOIDA: The medical services in Gautam Budh Nagar are likely to remain affected on Saturday as government and private hospital doctors have announced they will go on a strike in protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, and the recent incident of a nurse being assaulted in Uttarakhand.

On Friday, the medical services were mildly impacted in the region as doctors of only Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida, staged protest and went on strike. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The medical community seeks strict action against the perpetrators and improved security measures, the protesting doctors stressed on Friday.

The All India Government Nurses Federation, in a letter to Union minister of health & family welfare JP Nadda, on August 15, announced that “nurses under the federation, from Friday (August 16) will wear black badge on duty for justice for brutality happened in Uttarakhand and in Kolkata,”it said, adding: “All health care providers are awaiting law should be made to ensure their safety.”

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for a nationwide strike to demand improved security for doctors and healthcare workers. During the strike, only emergency services will be available, and all non-essential surgeries and procedures will be postponed.

“All government and private hospitals will remain shut for 24 hours on Saturday, except for essential services, on the directions of IMA headquarters. The strike aims to pressurise the government to take concrete steps to address the safety concerns of medical professionals”, said IMA Noida president, Sunil Awana.

On Friday, the medical services were mildly impacted in the region as doctors of only Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida, staged protest and went on strike, crippling all hospital services except emergency care, in solidarity with their counterparts in Kolkata.

Doctors at GIMS held banners and posters, shouting slogans and demanding stringent punishment for the perpetrators. The strike caused inconvenience to patients as OPD services were shut down. However, emergency services continued to function normally.

The doctors emphasised that the barbaric act committed against their colleague in Kolkata was unacceptable and demanded severe punishment for the culprits. They warned that if strong action wasn’t taken against the accused, their agitation would continue.

“We demand capital punishment for the perpetrators and to ensure that such heinous crime is not committed in the future, we demand Central Healthcare Protection Act, assurances for which have been given in the past but were only verbal. Had it been implemented, our colleague would have been alive today. We need an affirmation on the act in written, financial aid for the victim’s family and appeal for justice through fast track court in the case”, said Dr Ranjan Verma, president, Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA), GIMS, who was protesting on Friday.

At Noida district hospital in Sector 39, officials said that all services at the facility are likely to continue as usual. “As of now, we have not received any instructions to suspend the services here and working will continue as usual”, said Dr Renu Agarwal, chief medical superintendent.

Meanwhile, the Super Specialty Paediatric Hospital and Post Graduate Teaching Institute announced that the hospital’s OPD will remain shut from 6 am Saturday for 24 hours, to mark the protest.

Fortis hospital in Sector 62, and Felix hospital in Sector 137 will also join the protest.