Kolkata horror: Chhattisgarh junior resident doctors stage protests; elective services hit

Raipur, Aug 14 (PTI) Nearly 1,500 junior resident doctors of hospitals attached to government medical colleges in Chhattisgarh boycotted elective services on Wednesday and staged protests at their respective premises against the rape and murder of a trainee medico in Kolkata.

As part of the protest, junior doctors stayed away from out-patient departments (OPDs), operation theatres and ward services from 8 am to 2 pm, said Dr Dharmendra Kumar Singh, president of Junior Doctors' Association (JUDA) of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and its affiliated hospital, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur.

More than 300 junior resident doctors joined the demonstration in the state capital, while similar protests involving over 1,000 doctors were held at other hospitals attached to government medical colleges in Chhattisgarh, he added.

The protesting doctors stayed away from attending elective procedures, but emergency services in the public hospitals remained unaffected, he said.

An elective procedure is one that can be scheduled in advance because it does not involve a medical emergency. Elective surgeries can include procedures to correct medical problems that are not life-threatening.

Condemning the rape and murder of the postgraduate medical student at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Singh said a transparent and unbiased investigation should be conducted into the tragic incident and the culprit must be punished at the earliest.

Adequate safety measures like installation of CCTV cameras and deployment of security guards should be ensured in all healthcare institutes, he demanded. PTI TKP MVG RSY