Mumbai: KEM hospital doctors march in solidarity with Kolkata medicos

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Resident doctors at KEM Hospital held a protest march on the premises on Friday morning in solidarity with medical fraternity in Kolkata who are demonstrating against the attack on two of their colleagues. Close to 200 resident doctors gathered held a march and performed a street play depicting the attack on two junior doctors in Kolkata by family members of a patient who died on Monday night.

The protest, organised by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), began at 8 am and ended at 5 pm. The MARD members highlighted several issues the doctors generally face and demanded better infrastructure and manpower to curb attacks on the medical staff.

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MARD president from KEM Dr. Maneesh Kumar, 32, said, "People blame doctors for everything but the actual culprit is the government." Resident doctor Gayatri Patel, 26, echoed Kumar's concerns and said, "Government doesn't provide basic medical infrastructure to the hospitals." Some claimed there is a shortage of doctors and medical staff at government hospitals. Resident doctor Subashri Dhanusu, 25, said there are only 5-10 percent medicos in casualty and emergency wards, whereas there is a need for much more.

MARD spokesperson Deepak Munde, 27, said the government needs to spend more on healthcare. "In 1950, India spent way less than 0.5 percent of its GDP on healthcare, and after 69 years, it has risen to just a little over 1 percent," he added.

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PG student Nishta Khatri said they ensured their protest did not affect the patients at the hospital. While senior doctors attended to patients who needed surgery, a few junior doctors remained at the emergency ward, wearing black bands to voice their solidarity.

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