Kolkata murder-rape case: Protesting doctors offer elective OPD services outside Nirman Bhawan in Delhi

Doctors will offer elective outpatient services outside Nirman Bhawan on Monday as their strike enters its eighth day, following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

Resident doctors will be available for elective OPD services across 36 specialities, including medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, ophthalmology, and orthopaedics, outside Nirman Bhawan, according to a statement from the AIIMS RDA. Emergency services at hospitals will remain unaffected.

The doctors’ strike in the national capital, which began in response to the rape and murder of a doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata, reached its one-week mark on Sunday and is now extending into a second week, causing challenges for patients. On Sunday evening, resident doctors confirmed that the strike would continue.

The doctors plan to move to Nirman Bhawan at 11 AM, as stated by the RDAs. A resident doctor from Safdarjung Hospital expressed frustration, noting that a concrete response from the government regarding the Central Protection Act for medics would have provided some relief.

“However, after eight days, we are still waiting. As previously mentioned, the strike will persist indefinitely until our demands are met,” the doctor said.

Also Read: Kolkata doctor rape-murder: Health services hit in Delhi as doctors’ continue strike for eighth day

The protests, which began on the evening of August 12, initially took place within medical college campuses, but by Friday, doctors had begun to demonstrate in the streets.

The action committee, formed on August 15 to advocate for central legislation, includes members from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, and Lady Hardinge Medical College. (With inputs from PTI)