Jipmer resident doctors call off strike, to resume regular service on Friday
JIPMER.
| Photo Credit: file photo
After a 10-day boycott of elective duties, human chain protests, solidarity rallies and ‘Bleed for Justice’ blood donation camps, the JIPMER Resident Doctors Association (JRDA) on Thursday called off their strike in response to positive developments during the hearings of the Supreme Court’s suo motu case in the rape-murder of a PG trainee in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata.
The JRDA said it was reposing full faith in the judiciary in achieving expeditious delivery of justice in the case as also in moving the needle on the core demands, including workplace safety for healthcare professionals, especially women.
“We are ending our indefinite strike but will continue to engage in symbolic actions until justice is served and measures are set in motion on our demand for a safe working environment”, a spokesperson for the JRDA said.
From Friday, all resident doctors will resume regular duty in Out Patient clinics and Operation Theatres.
The JRDA had launched its indefinite strike on August 13 in solidarity with the nation-wide protests led by the the All India Residents and Junior Doctors Joint Action Forum and backed by other bodies including the Indian Medical Association.
Around 600 junior doctors had kept off across elective operation theatre units, wards and OPD services while ensuring the normal functioning of emergency services, laboratory services, dialysis, cancer chemotherapy units and ICUs. Support for the strike came from the Jipmer Students’ Association, Jipmer Faculty Association and the Jipmer Registered Nurses Association.
The JRDA’s core demands included speedy justice in the Kolkata case, a Central Protection Act for safety of healthcare personnel training of security personnel with a focus on preventing threats to doctors and round-the-clock CCTV coverage within the premises of the hospital.
While being appreciative of the Supreme Court’s many positive interventions on the issues, the JRDA had persisted with the stir to seek a Central Protection Act for workplace safety as it felt that the apex court-constituted National Task Force fell short of one of its main demands.
“We are keenly following the evolution of the NTF mandate. Though our proposal for our representation in the body to communicate ground realities was ruled out, authorities are agreeable to an online mechanism for submission of our recommendations”, a JRDA representative said.
Earlier, in the day, JIPMER Director Rakesh Aggarwal had issued an appeal to call off the stir taking into account the Supreme Court’s suo motu cognisance of the gruesome incident in Kolkata, its ordering several steps to be taken by the Government and the various medical institutions, and and its continued engagement with the matter.
“We are already working on improving our workplace safety and are committed to working further on this in keeping with the recommendations of the committee that has already been set up at the Institute for this purpose”, the Director said.
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