The junior doctors of Bengal, who have been protesting since last few days, have called off their strike hours after meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna on Monday.
One of the junior doctors of the NRS Medical college and Hospital said, “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the CM. After an enormous movement, the meeting and discussions with our CM met a logical end. Considering everything we expect the govt to solve the issues as discussed in due time.”
Junior doctors of #NRSMedicalCollege & Hospital, Kolkata: We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the CM. After an enormous movement, the meeting and discussions with our CM met a logical end. Considering everything we expect the govt to solve the issues as discussed in due time. pic.twitter.com/QSF9NZc24E
— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2019
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all seniors, juniors, patients, common people, intelligentsia & medical fraternity of the country who spontaneously extended their support and made this movement possible. We hope to maintain this unity in future,” he added.
Besides this, the chief minister has accepted the proposal of doctors to set up a Grievance Redressal Cell in the government hospitals and also directed Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma to deploy a nodal police officer in every hospital.
Earlier in the day, CNN-News18 quoted Mamata Banerjee as telling the protesting doctors, “No false cases have been registered against doctors. Young doctors are our future. There is no intention to target young doctors.”
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“I have suggested not more than two relatives inside emergency and I urge you to frame a package to set up reinforced gates at emergency departments. I suggest, there should be dedicated PR persons at district-level hospitals to interact with patients’ relatives instead of doctors doing it,” Mamata Banerjee told protesting doctors at the meeting.
The West Bengal government had asked two representatives of the 14 colleges to be present at the secretariat.
PTI reported that the invite, sent by the state health department, said a recorded version of the discussions and resolutions taken at the meeting will later be provided to them.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), on the other hand, is observing a nationwide strike, with the withdrawal of non-essential medical services, including OPD services, for 24 hours starting 6 am today. Emergency, casualty and ICU services, will remain unaffected. Doctors at AIIMS in the national capital, who had earlier decided to stay away, joined the protests after a junior doctor was assaulted at its trauma centre earlier today.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today said it will hear on June 18 a plea seeking safety and security of doctors in government hospitals across the country. The plea was filed on Friday in the wake of protests by doctors in Bengal against the assault on their colleagues by the family of a patient, who died on Monday night.
(With Agency Inputs)