Mumbai: City doctors' strike continues, demands for security mount

Medical students and doctors take part in a candlelight protest in Mumbai. Pic/PTI

Despite holding talks with the Directorate of Medical Education (DMER) on Tuesday, resident doctors will continue their agitation, citing the need for better security on hospital grounds.

On the first day of the strike, senior resident doctors and professors stepped in to ensure that hospital services were not disrupted as their counterparts across public health facilities in the city protested in response to the rape and murder case in Kolkata.

At KEM hospital, Dr Kartik Mudaliar, a surgery resident, said the hospital decided to discharge stable patients to manage manpower during the strike. "We held a brief protest in the morning and then returned to emergency duties. Patients were not inconvenienced, and we managed with the available resources," he said.

By 3 pm, KEM hospital had treated 55 patients in the casualty ward, admitted 46 new patients, registered 1,698 new outpatient visits, and attended 1,698 follow-ups. Additionally, 38 major surgeries were performed, along with 62 minor procedures.

At JJ Hospital, Dr Sanjay Sasane, a senior resident doctor, noted, "We, along with assistant professors, are covering for the absence of our juniors. Everything is running smoothly." Similar to KEM, JJ hospital reported 2,216 outpatient visits, 152 inpatient admissions, and 119 patients treated in the casualty ward. A total of 148 surgeries were performed, six deliveries took place, and 70 patients were treated in the ICU.

Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) president Dr Pratik Debaje, who travelled from Nagpur to Mumbai for the meeting with officials, said, "We discussed security issues in Maharashtra's hospitals with the authorities." He added, "We were informed that a meeting between DMER and all the deans will be held on Wednesday. Our primary concern is justice for the victim, and until we have clarity on the CBI's involvement, including which officers will handle the case, we will not withdraw the strike."

The doctors on strike have put forward a series of demands, among them is the formation of an expert committee to fast-track the implementation of the Central Healthcare Protection Act. They have already called for the creation of security councils within each medical college in Maharashtra and a comprehensive security audit across all state medical colleges.

Additionally, they are insisting on the immediate recruitment of well-trained and equipped security personnel, and the installation of fully functional CCTV cameras in critical areas.

The doctors are also pressing for the allocation of dedicated on-call rooms for both male and female resident doctors.