Agitating junior doctors continue sit-in, seek another meeting with CM

The doctors demanded the removal of the state health secretary NS Nigam, saying they were assured by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the Monday of an action on it

Junior doctors continued their 'cease work' stir in hospitals and sit-in near Swasthya Bhavan, the state health department headquarters, on Wednesday morning demanding justice for the medic raped and murdered at Kar Medical College and Hospital and removal of Health Secretary.

The sit-in agitation outside the Swasthya Bhavan entered its ninth day while the 'cease work' stir in hospitals continued for the 40th day on Wednesday.

"The removal of Health Secretary N S Nigam and the elimination of the threat culture in state-run hospitals are crucial for rebuilding the collapsed healthcare system. We have requested another meeting with the Chief Minister," said one of the protesting doctors from the agitation site.

The removal of the Health Secretary is one of the key points in their five-point demand.

According to a statement issued following the conclusion of their general body meeting, which had started around 6.30 pm on Tuesday and went on till well past midnight, the protestors called the state's administrative measures "only partial victory" of their movement.
 

The doctors said they will send an email to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant seeking an appointment with the CM for another meeting later in the day.

They also demanded discussions on the safety and security of doctors inside hospital premises and a thorough rundown on how the government wants to spend the Rs 100 crore it has allocated for tightening doctors' safety in state-run hospitals.

"No effective security measures can be implemented in hospitals without a thorough overhaul of public healthcare delivery mechanism including streamlining of the referral system, the appointment of health workers and professional patient counsellors, plugging of admission corruption and ensuring availability of life-saving drugs," the statement read.

The doctors demanded immediate notification of the chief secretary-headed task force in medical colleges which was promised at the meeting at Banerjee's residence on Monday.

They also demanded that student body elections be held and adequate representation of junior doctors in the highest policy-making bodies of those institutions be ensured.

On Tuesday the state government appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as the new commissioner of Kolkata Police, replacing Vineet Goyal, a day after Banerjee held a meeting with the agitating junior doctors and agreed to their demands, in a bid to resolve the more than a month-long impasse over the Kar hospital incident.

Director of Health Services (DHS) Debashis Halder, Director of Medical Education (DME) Kaustav Nayak and Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police's North Division Abhishek Gupta were also removed as promised by Banerjee during the meeting.