At the emergency ward of NRS Medical College and Hospital. (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh)Even as the emergency ward opened at NRS Medical College and Hospital, about 85 doctors from R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital and over hundred others from other state-run medical facilities have tendered their mass resignation expressing solidarity with protesting junior doctors at NRS.
The development comes a day after NRS Medical College and Hospital principal, professor Saibal Mukherjee, and Medical Superintendent and Vice Principal Sourav Chatterjee tendered their resignation.
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“About 69 senior doctors have resigned unanimously following the indifferent attitude of the Chief Minister in providing security to junior doctors. She has made us a scapegoat in front of the people. This has occurred because of the failure of the CM in tackling of the situation,” said a senior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital showing a list of names of doctors who have resigned.
Another 16 doctors of R.G. Kar have submitted their resignation to the director of medical education and ex officio secretary, department of health and family welfare. The resignations have come from mostly cardiology, dermatology and medicine departments of the institute.
There were reports that about 67 doctors at Suri Hospital in Birbhum district have tendered their mass resignation. In North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, five doctors from the psychiatric department including head of the department Nirmal Bera have tendered their resignation. There were also reports that resident medical officers at SSKM Hospital also resigned.
Meanwhile, doctor Kunal Saha filed a petition before the division bench of the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court seeking the court’s direction to end the present crisis.
Eminent personalities and city-based intellectuals expressed their solidarity with the protesting junior doctors at NRS and paid them a visit.
Actor-director Aparna Sen urged chief minister Mamata Banerjee to visit the doctors at NRS and ensure their security. “We know you (doctors) don’t see the religion of any patient before providing them treatment. I know that you are suffering. We have to find a way out from this crisis and I have come here as a citizen to express my solidarity. I will appeal to Mamata Banerjee that she is not only the chief minister of the patients but also of the doctors. You have the responsibility to provide them security. You should come here and talk to them,” she told the protesting doctors.
Actor Koushik Sen, social activist Bolan Ganguly and others too went to NRS. Sen slammed the state government for not providing adequate security to the doctors but spending money to organise festivals across the state.
“It is a major crisis and the administration must understand it. Enough is enough. Instead of distributing money to clubs and spending funds to organise festivals the administration must give protection to the doctors. If needed then she must stop holding film festivals and use that money to provide these doctors security,” sais Sen.
The junior doctors at NRS went on a strike on Tuesday demanding security at OPD and emergency wards, a day after the family of a patient allegedly attacked two interns. The protests soon spread to state-run medical facilities across the state. On Thursday, the agitating doctors defied Mamata Banerjee’s ultimatum to return to work by 2 pm and continued with their protest.
