Healthcare services paralysed for second day in Delhi

Healthcare services continued to remain paralysed for the second consecutive day in the national capital with the members of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) launching its strike on Saturday.

Doctors from various hospitals, including Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML), GB Pant Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDUH), Ambedkar Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Instutute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) and Hindu Rao Hospital, among others, went on strike in solidarity with the striking doctors in West Bengal.

"We have launched an agitation in solidarity with the doctors assaulted by patient parties in West Bengal. We want immediate arrest of the persons who assaulted the junior doctors there. We also want the government to implement a Central Protection Act for the doctors," FORDA President Sumedh Sadanshiv told IANS, adding that if required, the CRPF should be deployed to ensure the safety of the doctors across the country.

"OPD, wards and other routine operations are non-functional. However, emergency services such as casualty, ICU and emergency ward will not be hampered," he added.

Meanwhile, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital called off its day-long strike announced in support of the protesting medicos in West Bengal.

Announcing the decision, the RDA gave West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee an ultimatum of 48 hours to meet the demands of the protesting doctors in her state.

"RDA AIIMS issues an ultimatum of 48 hours to the West Bengal government to meet the demands of the striking doctors there, failing which we will be forced to resort to an indefinite strike at AIIMS, New Delhi. We hope that our colleagues across the nation will join us in this hour of need," read a statement issued by the RDA.

The doctors associated with the Association, however, said that they would continue to wear red-stained bandages and helmets as a sign of protest.

The ultimatum came a day after Banerjee gave the protesting doctors in her state four hours to withdraw their strike and return to work or vacate the hostels.

--IANS

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