Ramanathapuram/Sivaganga
Medical services were partially hit in the two districts as private doctors withdrew non-essential medical services, while government doctors staged demonstration and wore black badges, expressing solidarity with the striking junior doctors in West Bengal against the brutal assault of a junior doctor by a group of people, who accompanied a patient last week.
Responding to the 24-hour strike call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), private doctors suspended out-patient service and other non-essential medical services while government doctors staged protest demonstrations and attended patients, wearing black badges, expressing solidarity with the striking doctors.
While medical services remained unaffected in government hospitals in the two districts, including the Government Headquarters hospital in Ramanathapuram and Government Medical College Hospital in Sivaganga, services were partially hit in private hospitals, officials said.
Outpatient services, essential and non-essential medical services were maintained in all the government hospitals in Ramanathapuram district, Deputy Director (public health) B. Kumaragurubaran said.
Doctors attended duty wearing black badges, he said. Private doctors joined the strike in full in the two districts, IMA State council member Chinnadurai Abdullah said. They attended only inpatients, emergency and accident cases while suspending non-essential medical services, he said.
Pointing that only 19 states had enacted laws to protect medical practitioners and ensured safe working environment, the district chapter of IMA demanded others states to enact similar laws. The Centre should also enact such a law covering all State governments, the IMA said in its meeting here. Government doctors also attended the meeting.
Government doctors attended outpatients at the Government Sivaganga Medical College hospital and medical services – both essential and non-essential remained unaffected, Hospital Dean B. Chandrika said. Medical services in other government hospitals in the district were also remained unaffected, officials said.
Virudhunagar
Medical services in the district were partially affected as private doctors affiliated to Indian Medical Association boycotted non-essential medical services across the district.
IMA Virudhunagar district secretary, D. Aram, said that among the 900 IMA members, except for those in government hospitals, all the members boycotted outpatient treatment.
“We attended only to delivery and emergency cases,” he said. Stating that patients who are regular to private hospitals were affected as non-essential medical services were not provided. People with fever and other minor ailments could have got treatment at the Government hospitals, he said.
The IMA was seeking legislation of a stringent law to protect medical practitioners from being attack by patients or their attendants, he added. The strike that began at 6 a.m. on Monday will go on till 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
However, all the primary health centres and urban health centres and government hospitals in the district functioned as usual, according to the Joint Director (Medical Services), R. Manoharan.
“There was no disruption of medical services as all the medical officers turned up for duty,” he added.
Secretary of Virudhunagar district unit of Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association, K. Sugumar, said that its members wore black badges as a mark of showing solidarity to the striking IMA members.
Dindigul
Outpatient wards in over 520 private hospitals, including 400 clinics and 120 hospitals, remained shut across Dindigul district on Monday, as over 900 doctors took part in the strike, organized by Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA), said A. Srinivasan, State vice-president, TNGDA, who lead a demonstration at the Dindigul GH.
Similarly, nearly 600 doctors across Theni district took part in the strike and OPDs remained closed in nearly 550 private clinics and 50 hospitals in the district, said R. Aravazhi, district secretary of TNGDA.
Members of IMA Cumbum valley branch and Mullaiperiyar branch also took part in the demonstration outside the Theni Government Medical College Hospital.
The emergency wards functioned and doctors worked wearing black badges at the government hospitals in both the districts.
