RG Kar doctors tender mass resignation in support of striking junior doctors

At least 48 senior doctors and faculty members of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata tendered their resignation on Tuesday in support of the junior doctors who have been on a hunger strike since Saturday.
Meanwhile, the chief secretary of the West Bengal government is likely to hold an emergency meeting with the health secretary at the state secretariat.
“Junior doctors have been protesting over the past two months and have now started a hunger strike. Their health conditions have started deteriorating. They are like our children. We senior doctors couldn’t sit idle and have tendered a mass resignation,” Dr Debabrata Das, a senior doctor at the ENT department of the RG Kar Hospital told media persons.
Seven junior doctors from various medical colleges, including one from RG Kar Hospital, started an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday night. They alleged that the state government has not met their ten demands related to increasing security and strengthening infrastructure in state-run hospitals and medical colleges across West Bengal.
On Tuesday dozens of senior and junior doctors in all State-run medical colleges held a 12-hour token hunger strike in support of the seven junior doctors and to mount pressure on the state administration.
“Tendering our resignation doesn’t mean that we will stop work from tomorrow. We will continue to work till our resignations are accepted. The intention is to send a message to the state government that they should hold talks with the striking junior doctors. This stalemate can’t continue,” Sumit Hazra, a senior doctor who submitted his resignation, told media persons.
In one video, which surfaced on social media, junior doctors could be seen clapping as senior doctors came out of a room after signing a resignation letter.
The West Bengal government on Monday announced that it would launch a central referral system, a centrally monitored real time bed availability information system and panic call button alarm system in State-run hospitals from November 1.
“There is a very good progress of work as per our earlier discussions with the junior doctors. I am sure that doctors will appreciate this. They should all join duty and work in a collaborative manner. The overall objective was to create a safe and secure working environment. We should all look at these in a positive manner,” chief secretary Manoj Pant told media persons at the state secretariat on Monday.
Junior doctors have placed 10 demands before the government – justice for the victim, removal of state health secretary, a centralised referral system, digital bed vacancy monitors in all hospitals, task forces in every medical colleges with elected representatives of junior doctors, deployment of police in hospitals, filling up of vacancies in hospitals, hold election of student councils, college-level enquiry committees to probe into allegations of threat culture and probe into the alleged corruption in the state medical council among others.
“Our fight will continue till the government meets all our demands. The demands are not just related to our security but are also related to the welfare of the citizens,” Dr Kinjal Nanda, one of the junior doctors told media persons on Tuesday.
The alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 triggered a nation-wide uproar and junior doctors in West Bengal had started a cease work.
The strike was partially withdrawn after 41 days following the removal of the Kolkata police commissioner and a few other police and health officials and assurances from the state government that security and infrastructure in government hospitals would be strengthened.
They, however, resumed complete cease work from October 1 after a few junior doctors were attacked in a government hospital over the death of a patient.
With Durga Puja – the biggest festival in state – round the corner, a section of senior doctors, who have been supporting the agitation all through, however, urged the striking junior doctors to reconsider the decision of starting a full-fledged cease-work once again.
The junior doctors ended the cease-work strike but launched a hunger strike on Saturday to press for their demands.