Over 100 senior doctors of state-run hospitals in West Bengal resign

Over 100 senior doctors of various state-run hospitals across West Bengal resigned from their services Friday amid the ongoing agitation by the medical fraternity against the violence at NRS Medical College and Hospital here.

The doctors, including heads of departments of medical colleges and other hospitals in Kolkata, Burdwan, Darjeeling and North 24 Parganas districts, sent their resignation letters to the state director of medical education, a senior health department official told PTI.

"We express fullest solidarity to the current movement of NRS Medical College and Hosptial and other government hospitals agitating to protest the brutal attack on them while on duty," Dr P Kundu, director of the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, said in the resignation letter.

"We strongly stand by the demands of security and protection for all healthcare personnel and we have tried our best to continue life saving services in the interest of our patients till now," Prof (Dr) Dipanjan Bandyopadhyay, Head of Medicine department at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, wrote in the resignation letter which contained the signature of 34 other senior doctors.

"Under the present circumstances, it is not possible for us to continue our services indefinitely without minimum manpower resources. In the absence of any constructive development to end this crisis, we are pained to offer our resignation and request you to relieve us of our responsibilities," the resignation letter read.

The principal and the medical superintendent of the NRS Medical College and Hospital submitted their resignations on Thursday night.

Two junior doctors of the NRS Medical College and Hospital were seriously injured in an attack by family members of a patient who died on Monday night, triggering the agitation.