Medical Outrage: West Bengal Healthcare Paralyzed by Streik

Healthcare services in West Bengal were severely disrupted as doctors, both senior and junior, ceased work in protest against the rape and murder of a medical professional at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The Indian Medical Association called for the strike, affecting outpatient services across government and private hospitals.

Healthcare services faced significant disruptions in West Bengal on Saturday as doctors joined their junior colleagues in a work stoppage. The protest aimed to demand justice for the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The strike, initiated eight days ago by junior doctors, saw senior doctors joining in following a call from the Indian Medical Association (IMA). This move severely affected outpatient departments at both government and private hospitals.

'Our agitation will continue. This is the only way to get our demands fulfilled. How can people get inside the hospital and attack us even with police presence? We understand the actual motive behind this vandalism,' a protesting doctor asserted.

Non-essential healthcare services at several state-run hospitals, including SSKM Hospital and Calcutta National Medical College, were crippled. Similar scenes played out at private facilities. Manipal Hospitals and ILS Hospitals suspended routine OPD services and elective surgeries in solidarity with the IMA strike. Despite the disruptions, emergency and essential services remained operational.

(With inputs from agencies.)