Kolkata doctor's rape-murder: Protesting Delhi AIIMS doctors to hold OPD outside health ministry today
The resident doctors of AIIMS have been on an indefinite strike since August in protest against the murder and rape of a junior doctor in Kolkata.
The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi has annouced they will continue their strike in protest of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Emergency services and ICUs, however, will continue to function, they said.
On Sunday, the doctors body also announced that they will provide elective OPD services outside the Nirman Bhawan, which houses the health ministry, as part of their protest. The OPD will begin 11am onwards on Monday.
“Resident doctors will be available for providing elective OPD services of around 36 specialities, including medicine, surgery, obs&gynae, paediatrics, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and others to patients outside Nirman Bhawan,” the AIIMS RDA said in a statement.
It further added that the doctors will provide patient care services in the nation's interest and as per their Hippocratic oath.
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“We want to highlight the lack of security of healthcare professionals nationwide. We are urging government to accept our plea for an urgent central ordinance for safety and security of healthcare workers and institutes,” AIIMS RDA said. "We request authorities to allow for the same and provide necessary arrangements for elective out patients services outside Nirman Bhavan."
The resident doctors of AIIMS have been on an indefinite strike, suspending all elective and non-essential services, including OPDs and wards, since August 12.
On Sunday, the body wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for the enactment of the central law via an ordinance to protect healthcare workers and institutions.
They said that hospitals, like temples, are sanctuaries where healing and hope are nurtured. "It is with a sincere and earnest plea that we request your support in ensuring the protection of these sacred spaces," their letter to PM Modi said.
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The RDA said doctors work in environments filled with life-and-death challenges, which leaves them especially vulnerable.
Kolkata doctor's rape and murder
The trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The crime took place on the third-floor seminar hall of the chest department late at night, and police later said multiple lacerations and wounds were found on her body.
While Sanjoy Roy, the main accused, has been arrested, investigating agencies have yet to rule out the involvement of others in the crime. The crime has sparked widespread outrage and led to protests within and beyond the medical community.