Government hospitals in Delhi will see some disruptions today, that is, 12 August 2024, with resident doctors deciding to boycott their outpatient departments or OPDs in protest against the rape and murder of a resident doctor in Kolkata.
The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) had called for a nationwide strike. Fortunately, the emergency services will continue to be offered and ICUs will also function normally, although the resident doctors will be sporting black ribbons on duty. Patients will be affected but services will not be completely shut down. The doctors wish to draw the government’s attention towards the need for safety and protection for those in the medical profession, following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor by a civic volunteer at a Kolkata hospital. Junior doctors across government hospitals in West Bengal protested seeking punishment for those responsible.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka, over 4,000 resident doctors are on strike indefinitely, starting today. They are demanding better stipends. Their stipend has not been revised in the last five years. These resident doctors resent the fact that they earn half of the stipend that is earned by resident doctors in other states. What makes this worse is the fact that medical students in Karnataka pay the highest course fee in India. About 4,200 postgraduates, 2,500 interns and about 70 superspecialty resident docs from across government hospitals and medical colleges in Karnataka will be absenting themselves from work today, under the aegis of the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD). These resident doctors are sometimes required to be on duty for 36 to 48 hours continuously, but their stipend does not do justice to the hard work and hours that they put in. The postgraduate doctors earn Rs 45,000 in the first year, and Rs 50,000 in the second year. By the third year, their stipend goes up to only Rs 55,000.
