Give up protest in patients' interest: Tamilisai to doctors

Chennai: Contending that the Centre has got nothing to do with the high court decision on service doctors’ issue, BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan who herself is a doctor, said the proposed state wide agitation by the doctors’ association on May 8 will only lead to needless politicisation by the opposition parties.

Appealing to the doctors to give up their proposed agitation she said the 50 % service quota for PG doctors in rural service in vogue for several decades in Tamil Nadu, was now questioned by the high court order in response to a legal suite filed by a medical doctor.

“Doctors’ association should seek legal remedies in all fairness instead of displaying their numbers on streets through indefinite strikes putting to risk the lives of innocent and poor patients at Government Hospitals,” she said and asked, “why punish patients for no fault of their, to get your demands fulfilled.”

Arguing that refusing treatment to the suffering is against doctors’ professional ethics and medical code of conduct as per Hippocrates Oath, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan said no doctor could intentionally refuse treatment to a suffering patient.

“Doctors are the saviors of the poor patients attending Government hospitals. They look at you as their demigods, why punish them for your higher education needs and rights?” she asked.

The indefinite strike dilutes their just demands and poses serious questions on whether patients’ safety can be jeoparadised by doctors intentionally, the senior leader said and claimed that the Communists have “infiltrated” into the doctors’ strike.

The medical students who earn their degrees by servicing the poor patients of GH during their training period, should not deny treatment to the same, but device dignified means of agitating.

Emergency cases are not affected: Docs assn

The Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association, with an intention of intensifying its protests demanding that the government retain the 50 per cent service quota for PG admissions in the state, is, along with medicos to meet at the Chennai Collector’s office on Tuesday.

Stating that they will ensure that emergency cases are not affected, president of the association, Dr K. Senthil said, “Doctors will stop performing elective surgeries from Wednesday in all government hospitals and medical colleges and on Friday and Saturday, doctors in all government hospitals and medical colleges will apply for mass leave and gather for demonstration.

Students and doctors of the Madras Medical College also continued their protests regarding the same on Monday. The doctors continue fasting for the cause of their juniors and the general public.