Keep protest symbolic: Karna govt to docs

Karnataka Health Minister Shivanand S Patil Sunday appealed to the doctors in the state to keep "symbolic" their protest to express solidarity with their West Bengal counterparts.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has given the call for the nationwide strike Monday with withdrawal of non-essential health services across the country in the wake of the recent assault on doctors in West Bengal.

In a letter to Karnataka chapter of IMA, which was released to the media, Patil condemned the attack on doctors in West Bengal recently and made a fervent appeal to those in the private and government hospitals in the state not to put ordinary citizens in trouble.

"I fervently appeal to the government and private doctors to keep their agitation symbolic without putting patients in trouble.

The people of the state will also support you if you keep your agitation symbolic and I believe that you will not put the poor patients of the state in trouble," he said.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka IMA chapter president Annadani M Meti said its members would not take non-emergency cases on Monday.

"We will take only trauma, emergency and pregnancy cases Monday. This is as per the decision taken by the national body of the Indian Medical Association," Meti told PTI.

He demanded a stringent law to ensure protection of doctors from attacks.

Officials in the medical department said adequate measures have been taken to ensure that people were not inconvenienced in view of the nationwide protest called by the IMA Monday.