ima-seeks-better-working-living-conditions-for-doctors

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has set forth five requests, one of which is a comprehensive revamp of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, as well as the implementation of a nationwide law to prevent violence against healthcare professionals in their workplaces.

As a form of protest against the tragic incident of a resident doctor being raped and murdered at a hospital in Kolkata, the IMA has announced a 24-hour withdrawal of non-emergency medical services starting from 6 am on August 17.

While ensuring the maintenance of all essential services and attending to casualties, the IMA has stated that routine Outpatient Departments (OPDs) will not be operational and elective surgeries will not take place during the duration of the withdrawal.

The boycott encompasses all sectors where doctors practising modern medicine offer their services, the doctors' association has highlighted.

Furthermore, the IMA has specifically called for an overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors, raising concerns about the 36-hour duty shift that the victim was assigned and the absence of secure spaces for rest. Additionally, the association has urged for the declaration of hospitals as safe zones, with the initial step being the provision of mandatory security measures.

"The security protocols of all hospitals should be no less than (that of) an airport. Declaring the hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements is the first step. CCTVs, deployment of security personnel and the protocols can follow," the IMA said in a statement.

The doctors' body also called for a meticulous and professional investigation of the crime in a specific time frame and rendering of justice besides identifying those involved in the vandalism of the hospital premises and awarding exemplary punishment.

It also sought an appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.

"The RG Kar incident has brought to the fore two dimensions of violence in the hospital: A crime of barbaric scale due to the lack of safe spaces for women and the hooliganism that is unleashed due to lack of an organised security protocol.

"The crime and the vandalism have shocked the conscience of the nation. Today, both the medical fraternity and the nation are victims," the statement said.