Patients suffer as doctors of four Kolkata hospitals on strike

KOLKATA - Patients in Kolkata are having a harrowing time as public health services have come to a virtually standstill with junior doctors of four government hospitals on strike to demand the release of five arrested doctors and beefed-up security measures in hospitals.

The junior doctors of Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM) Hospital went on a strike Saturday after being assaulted by the relatives of the patient for negligence in treatment. The striking doctors later assaulted media persons at the hospital campus accusing them of biased reporting and five of them were arrested.

Following the incident, junior doctors of Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC), Calcutta Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital joined their counterparts of the SSKM hospital.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Monday criticised the strike of the junior doctors and requested them to call back the strike and sit for talks.

“What is going on in these hospitals cannot go further. I would request that the doctors to call off the strike. The state government is looking into the matter of the security of junior doctors. Don’t act in this irresponsible way. The patients are suffering,” Bhattacharjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

A meeting was held among senior medical officials and authorities of SSKM which decided that a special action force in consultation with police officials will be formed to look into the security of the various medical colleges and hospitals, said SSKM hospital’s deputy superintendent.

It has also been decided that a five-member committee will be formed by the doctors of the SSKM which will talk to the junior doctors of the SSKM to convince them to call off the strike, the official said, adding the committee is meant only for SSKM hospital.

Meanwhile, the five doctors of SSKM who were arrested for beating up media persons have been given bail.

“Today (Monday) we had a meeting with state health officials at Swastha Bhawan. There it was decided that we would request the junior doctors to call off the strike and report to their work by 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday). The health department has also decided to take stern action against those who don’t join their work by tomorrow,” Calcutta Medical College’s superintendent Siddharto Chakroborty said.