August 13th 2024.
In Kolkata, a group of junior doctors have been on strike since Tuesday, protesting against the tragic rape and murder of a fellow woman doctor at a state-run medical college and hospital. The news has shaken the entire medical community and the junior doctors are demanding justice for their colleague.
As a result of the strike, healthcare services have been severely affected with long queues of patients waiting at the out-patient departments of all government hospitals. Senior doctors have stepped in to handle the increased workload, but the situation is far from ideal. The junior doctors, who have been leading the protest, have set a deadline of August 14 for the Kolkata Police to complete their investigation into the incident.
One of the protesting junior doctors from the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital stated, "We are determined to continue our strike until our demands are met. Our main demand is for a judicial probe into the incident." When asked about the deadline, he added, "We want the police to finish their investigation by Wednesday. Why do they need until Sunday?"
The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, visited the parents of the deceased doctor on Monday and gave a deadline of August 18 to the Kolkata Police to solve the case. She also warned that if they fail to do so, she will hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The woman's body was found in a seminar hall at the hospital on Friday morning and a civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday in connection with the crime. Up until Sunday, the junior doctors had been attending to their emergency duties, but from Monday morning, they stopped all work.
In order to handle the influx of patients, the state government has cancelled the leaves of all senior doctors. The SSKM Hospital, one of the busiest government hospitals, managed to handle the pressure on Monday as most of the senior doctors were present. However, some patients who had come for scheduled surgeries had to be turned away and given alternate dates.
One such patient, Saiful Alam from Murshidabad district, had come to Kolkata on Sunday evening to get admitted at the Shambhunath Pandit Hospital on Monday. "I spent the entire night at the hospital premises, but the next morning I was told to come back on another date," he shared.
This scenario was repeated in other hospitals as well, with patients being sent back home after their appointments were rescheduled. It is a difficult situation for both the patients and the doctors, but the junior doctors remain firm in their demands for justice for their fellow doctor.
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