ITANAGAR, 16 Aug: The Indian Medical Association’s Arunachal Pradesh branch (IMA-AP), expressing anguish over the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata (WB), has decided to join the nationwide protest by shutting down all routine services across the state for 24 hours from Saturday.
“The attitude of the government authorities regarding the inquiry is pathetic,” IMA-AP president Dr Kesang Wangdi Thongdok alleged.
“The IMA-AP has resolved to join the nationwide protest by shutting down all routine services, including OPD, elective OT cases, and non-essential services, at all government hospitals, private hospitals, NGO-run hospitals, and private clinics across Arunachal for 24 hours from 6 am of 17 August to 6 am of 18 August,” he said.
Dr Thongdok, however, added that emergency and in-patient services will function normally.
The IMA-AP has demanded, among other things, “immediate arrest of the culprit(s), speedy trial, and maximum punishment.”
It also sought formulating a central law to protect doctors and other healthcare personnel; to declare all healthcare institutions as special protected/safe zones;and to empower the National Medical Council to implement strict rules concerned with the safety and security of medical students and all the modern medicine doctors working anywhere in India.
The Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Science Hospital in Naharlagun, the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in Itanagar, and the Niba Multispecialty Hospital in Naharalgun have also extended their support to the IMA’s nationwide protest.
In separate releases, the health institutions stated that OPD, elective OT cases and non-essential services in their hospitals will remain suspended during that period.
“We are deeply aggrieved by the horrendous incident,but at the same time the essential and emergency services would not be hampered in our hospital in the interest of the public,” TRIHMS Chief Medical Superintendent Dr Dukhum Raina said in the release.
The East Siang district unit of the IMA has also decided to join the nationwide protest by shutting down all routine medical services, including OPD, in all government, private and NGO-run hospitals and clinics in the district for 24 hours from 6 am of 17 August.
“However, emergency medical services and emergency operation shall be exempted as per directives,” the IMA unit said.
