ITANAGAR, 17 Aug: The Indian Medical Association’s Arunachal Pradesh chapter (IMA-AP), along with doctors of private hospitals, shut down several medical services for 24 hours from 6 am of Saturday, in solidarity with the nationwide protest by doctors over the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor in RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal.
Doctors, both government and private, across the state staged a sit-in protest at their respective hospital premises.
Talking to The Arunachal Times, IMA-AP president Dr Kesang Wangdi Thongdok expressed regret over the inconvenience to the public, but informed that “all emergency services, have, however, been excluded from the shutdown.”
“On Saturday morning a heart attack patient was admitted, and the cardiology doctor immediately came to treat the patient,” he said, adding that “many deliveries also took place during the day.”
He said that the incident in Kolkata has not only impacted the medical fraternity but also raised broader concern over women’s safety in the country.
Dr Thongdok emphasised that security is a fundamental right and not a privilege. Reiterating the demands placed by the central IMA, he said that a strong law should be enacted for the medical fraternity of the country and there should be security arrangements for the welfare of the resident doctors.
“Many doctors in Arunachal’s CHCs and district hospitals work single-handedly, without the provision of CCTV cameras, which speaks a lot about their security,” he said.
“Support has been received from all corners of the country, including from nurses’ organisations, pharmacy associations, and women’s bodies of the state,” he informed.
