RG Kar: 50 senior doctors’ ‘mass resignation’ over untenable conditions

A number of senior doctors at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata — apparently 47 at the time of publishing — today queued up to sign a 'mass resignation' letter.

While they mentioned the health of their eight junior colleagues on hunger strike was ‘deterioriating tremendously fast’, the thrust of the argument stated in the letter is about the ‘current conditions’ that make it difficult for them to provide ‘optimal hospital services', given the junior doctors' ongoing cease-work protest.

‘We, the undersigned doctors of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, have been striving to provide optimal hospital services. However, the current conditions have made it increasingly challenging to deliver the quality of patient care that is essential,’ the letter reads.

The letter then urges the state government ‘to come into reconciliation with the protesting doctors and the ones who are sitting on indefinite hunger strike immediately’.

The letter has been addressed to the state's director of medical education, who is the ex-officio secretary to the West Bengal government's department of health and family welfare.

One senior doctor interviewed by the Indian Express claimed the action was necessitated by the state government's apparently being “oblivious to the deteriorating conditions” of the hospital and the band of junior doctors that have begun a hunger strike.

“If the situation demands, we will also go for individual resignations,” this senior doctor was cited as saying.

The junior doctors who have been protesting with a cease-work call since the rape and murder of a young doctor on 13 August have announced a nationwide hunger strike for 9 October, Wednesday, expecting solidarity from colleagues across the country.

The six doctors currently on ‘indefinite’ hunger strike have reportedly been at it for 70 hours, they claim.

The doctors have also declared a rally starting from Dharamtala this evening, 8 October, which the police have not given permission for.

While reportedly a few senior doctors visited the juniors on strike and joined them at the protest, the signatories of the letter seem almost to be lending credence to the state government's stance in court that it was public health and welfare that was suffering due to the junior doctors' ceasework.

Some of the junior doctors, however, reportedly have rejoined work, and none of the doctors on indefinite hunger strike seem to be from R.G. Kar — though doubtless they appreciate the solidarity of their seniors, wherever they may work.

Indeed, a senior doctor told PTI: "This has been decided at today's meeting of the HoDs. All 50 senior doctors of our hospital have signed their resignation letters. This is to express our solidarity towards those young doctors who are fighting for a cause."

The Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal, also said their colleagues indefinite hunger strike has seen no response from the "appropriate authorities", although chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said earlier that "99 per cent" of the protesting doctors' demands had been agreed to and action to meet them had been already initiated. 

The chief minister had promised no punitive action would be taken and mentioned the "common people were suffering" as the reason behind the government's urging.

Updated with agency inputs from PTI