Doctors on hunger strike should be admitted to hospital: Govt medics

A team of specialist doctors was sent by the West Bengal government to assess the health of the seven junior doctors on hunger strike for the past five days. One of the four members of the team said the doctors on a 'fast unto death' should be hospitalised before their condition worsens.

Amid the Durga Puja festivities, these seven medics in Kolkata and two in North Bengal have been fasting for the last 122 hours (since Saturday, 5 October) to press for their list of demands, including a safer working environment in hospitals.

"We came here to assess their health situation," Diptendra Sarkar, a member of the medical team, told reporters. "It is quite natural that their health parameters wouldn’t be very good after five days of fasting. We are like their parents, and as elders, we have suggested that they should be admitted to a hospital before their condition worsens."

The junior doctors, agitating over the alleged rape and murder of their colleague at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, continued their fast for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday.

The junior doctors began their hunger strike on Saturday evening in Dharmatala, in central Kolkata, after ending a total cease-work that had paralysed healthcare services.

The state government convened a meeting with the protesters on Wednesday evening, 9 October, but failed to break the deadlock.

Following the meeting, which was chaired by chief secretary Manoj Pant, the protesting doctors alleged that they had received nothing concrete from the state government except "verbal assurances".

On Wednesday, Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose also met with the agigtating doctors. During the meeting, the young medics handed over to Bose a list of their 10 demands and requested a permanent solution to the problems.

The protesting doctors have been demanding justice for the deceased woman medic at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital besides, calling for the immediate removal of state health secretary N.S. Nigam.

Their other demands include the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, the implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions for CCTV, on-call rooms and washrooms at their workplaces.

They are also demanding increased police protection in hospitals, recruitment of permanent women police personnel and swift filling of vacant positions for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

The junior doctors began their initial cease-work following the rape-murder of a fellow medic at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on 9 August.

They had ended their stir after 42 days, on 21 September, following assurances from the state government to look into their demands, before resuming again after declaring progress was not made.