Kolkata Case: The next 24 hours are crucial for patients, OPD services stopped; IMA placed five major demands before the government

There is a lot of anger in the whole country regarding the rape and murder of a trainee doctor of RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata, which has taken the form of a big protest. The Indian Medical Association has announced to close OPD services for 24 hours from 6 am on Saturday, August 17, in protest against the murder.

Doctors will be on strike from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday. During this time, an appeal has been made to keep OPD and regular surgeries closed in hospitals. Besides small private hospitals and nursing homes, doctors will also be on strike in corporate hospitals.

IMA demands major changes in hospitals

Meanwhile, amid the strike, IMA placed five demands before the government on Friday. These demands include changes in the working and living conditions of resident doctors and the creation of a central law to investigate violence against doctors in the workplace.

Let us know what are those five major demands of the Indian Medical Association.

IMA has demanded major changes in the working and living conditions of resident doctors. This includes 36-hour duty shifts and a lack of safe places to rest.

The IMA has pushed for a central act that will incorporate the amendments made in the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 in 2023 into the proposed Hospital Protection Bill of 2019. The association believes that this move will strengthen the existing laws in 25 states. The IMA has also suggested that an ordinance similar to the ordinance implemented during Corona would be appropriate in this situation.

The doctors' organization has demanded a careful and professional investigation of the crime within a fixed time frame as well as justice. Apart from this, the IMA has also demanded to identify and give strict punishment to those who vandalized the hospital campus on the night of August 14 by doing RG.

The IMA demands that the security protocols of all hospitals should not be less than an airport. Declaring hospitals as safe areas with mandatory security rights is the first step. CCTV cameras, deployment of security personnel, and protocols should be followed.

The IMA has demanded proper and respectable compensation to the victim's family.

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