Telangana Doctors Strike Over Safety Demands, Join Protests
Hyderabad: The junior doctors and senior residents of Telangana went on strike on Wednesday, boycotting all OPD and elective OT services, demanding the implementation of the Central Protection Act. Their protest was in solidarity with the murdered second-year PG doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College of Kolkata. Black-band protests, rallies and candlelight marches were carried out across Telangana for the third consecutive day.
Showing her support to the protesting doctors, Telangana minister for panchayati raj and rural development Seethakka joined them at Gandhi Medical College on Wednesday morning. In her address, she emphasised that justice must be served to the doctor and her family members. She also said the safety and security issues of the doctors must be taken seriously.
Besides Gandhi and Osmania Medical Colleges in Hyderabad, protests were held at RIMS Adilabad, Government Medical College in Nizamabad and Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal, where even the nursing staff joined the protesting medicos.
The implementation of the Central Protection Act remains one of the major demands of the protesting doctors. This law called the 'Prevention of Violence Against Healthcare Professionals and Clinical Establishments Bill', when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha two years ago. The bill aimed to define violent acts against doctors and prescribe appropriate punishments. Its provisions included defining and prohibiting violence, establishing penalties, mandating incident reporting, promoting public awareness, and creating a grievance redressal system. The bill intended to protect all healthcare personnel, including doctors, mental health professionals, dentists, nurses, medical and nursing students, allied health workers and hospital staff.
However, the then Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya decided not to move forward with the bill, stating that its main objectives were already addressed under the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.