the goan I network
PANAJI
Around 200 doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and several other doctors’ bodies on Monday held a protest meet opposite the old Goa Medical College and Hospital in the capital city, even as doctors from the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) did not join them, but carried on with their duties as usual at the GMC. GARD doctors however wore black bands to show their solidarity with the protest.
The protest led by president of the Goa IMA branch Dr Anil Mehndiratta and ex-president Dr Shekhar Salkar saw the doctors walk from Azad Maidan to old GMC. Several doctors then addressed those gathered, condemning the violence against doctors Paribaha Mukhopadhyay and Yash Tekwani at NRS Medical College, West Bengal.
Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant at the Secretariat, demanding that a”National Law against violence on hospitals be brought in urgently.”
Signed by the president of IMA-Goa, Dr Mehndiratta, the memo stated, “The law should provide a minimum of seven years imprisonment for hospital violence. To ensure that the cases are registered, culprits are arrested, and conviction is necessitated, appropriate mandatory provisions as provided in the POCSO Act must be instituted. Hospitals should be declared as special zones and provision of appropriate security should be the responsibility of the state.”
The memo also stated that increase in violence against doctors will adversely affect public health at large.
“Not only will patients undergoing treatment in the institution facing violence be directly affected, there will also be a lot of indirect consequences. Institutions will be reluctant to take up complicated and risky patients which will affect public health at large. Threat of violence increases the stress levels of health care workers. Sound judgment regarding patient care will be compromised in such situations,” said Dr Mehndiratta.
As part of the protest, all IMA doctors called for a nation-wide closure of non-essential medical services on June 17 from 6am to June 18 6am. Emergency services and casualty services remained open throughout.
Meanwhile, Dr Nathan Pinto, acting president of GARD told “The Goan” that while they fully supported IMA and vice-versa, they did not join Monday’s protest since the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi had decided against it and GARD followed AIIMS guidelines. He however reminded that GARD doctors had already protested at the GMC last week. “We are closely monitoring what’s going on at West Bengal, and will go on an indefinite strike if our demands are not met,” he said.
Many people on social media, however, said that the protests were “purely politically motivated.”
One user tweeted “The Goan” saying, “When Dr Payal Tavdi committed suicide due to racist slur, why didn’t IMA protest? When Dr Kafeel was arrested in UP for months, IMA was mute. When BJP Anant Hegde thrashed a doctor, why was there no protest? All of a sudden IMA realises that they are in danger because of the attack in Bengal.”
