Protesting doctors demand safe workspace

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, June 14

Doctors observed a “Black Day” on Friday and held a protest march here to express solidarity with their protesting colleagues in Kolkata.

Demanding a safe working environment, over 200 MBBS students — along with junior and senior resident doctors of Government Rajindra Hospital — tied a black cloth on their arms and heads as a mark of protest. They saidthe incidents of assault on medical professionals were on the rise, but nothing concrete had been done so far.

Demanding more security at hospitals, doctors said a safe and secure work environment was a basic requirement for caregivers to provide medical care to patients.

Condemning fatal attack, Dr DS Bhullar of the Punjab State Dental and Medical Teacher Association said, “There is no secure environment for the practitioners and, therefore, assaults on them are increasing day by day. If it continues like this, medical aspirants may start losing interest in this profession.”

They demanded that the state should deploy more police at the emergency ward of government hospitals to avoid any untoward incident.

The Punjab medicos, in a memorandum submitted to the Patiala Civil Surgeon, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure that no such attacks happen. Demanding stricter laws with exemplary punishment to the perpetrators, Punjab doctors demanded robust Acts on violence against medical professionals.

In a protest held at District Hospital in Fatehgarh Sahib, unit chief Dr Satnam Banga said they stand in solidarity with protesting doctors.