scores of doctors have decided to boycott work for a day in support of their striking colleagues in West Bengal. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had given the June 17 strike call with the withdrawal of non-essential health services across the country. IMA members will also stage a dharna at its headquarters in the national capital.
All outpatient departments (OPDs), routine operation theatre services and ward visits will be withdrawn for 24 hours from 6 am on Monday to 6 am Tuesday, the IMA said. Emergency and casualty services will continue to function, it said. The strike comes amid allegations that a resident doctor at the country’s top medical institute AIIMS in Delhi was abused by the relatives of a patient around 1 am on Sunday.
The junior doctors in Bengal, who had so far refused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal for talks, softened their stand on Sunday. “We are keen to end this impasse. We are ready to hold talks with the chief minister at a venue of her choice, provided it is held in the open, in the presence of media persons, and not behind closed doors,” a spokesperson of the doctors said after a two-hour meeting.
