GUWAHATI: Doctors on Wednesday boycotted OPD services, as healthcare in the testing time of Covid suffered a major jolt with widespread protests against the assault of a doctor in Hojai.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Assam chapter has further threatened to boycott Covid duty from Thursday if the state government fails to deploy armed police in Covid care facilities and assure fast-track trial of the culprits in three months.
At the call of the Assam Medical Service Association (Amsa), another leading association of doctors, and supported by IMA, the OPD boycott protests started from Wednesday morning.
“We are going to withdraw OPD services from Wednesday so that people realise the importance of doctors.
Next time, if any such incident of assault on any health worker takes place, we will immediately cease all services,” Amsa said in a statement.
At the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), doctors staged a protest wearing black badges.
Duty staff on emergency service and Covid centres also wore black badges to express solidarity with the medical fraternity.
While demanding a written assurance from the competent authority that all accused will be booked, the doctors’ association demanded the state government beefs up security in all hospitals.
Assam Health Security Force should be started immediately, Amsa asserted.
Even as the IMA headquarters has moved Union home minister Amit Shah, seeking security for doctors, hundreds of doctors associated with the state branch of the medico body abstained from attending OPD, including diagnostic services on Wednesday.
Holding placards, young doctors at GMCH staged protest demonstrations, demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits.
At the Jorhat Medical College Hospital, Tezpur Medical College Hospital and Assam Medical College Hospital, Dibrugarh, doctors staged demonstrations.
“Under the Disaster Management Act, the culprits must be given stringent punishment.
Attack on doctors has become a regular affair,” said general secretary of Amsa, Dr Kanak Chandra Talukdar.
Sources in the health department said that despite the protests leaving some impact on the entire healthcare system, the government put all efforts to manage Covid duty as an emergency service.
IMA has placed a three-point charter of demands before the state government after the attack on the junior doctor created a furore.
The video of assault by the relatives of the patients on Tuesday went viral soon after the incident.
Another incident has also come to light where a nurse Lalita Bharali was also attacked by a mob in the same Covid Centre at Udali in Hojai on Tuesday just before the doctor assault incident.
“They assaulted me and searched for the health staff after the death of the patient.
A group of about 10-15 miscreants broke open the door of the room where I was hiding.
They tried to strangle me and asked for the doctor’s phone number,” narrated Lalita, who managed to escape somehow and was found in a senseless state in the toilet.
IMA demanded immediate identification and arrest of all the culprits under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, Assam Medicare Protection Act, The Assam Medicare Service Persons & Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence & Damage to Property) Act and all appropriate sections of the IPC.
“A speedy trial of the case on a fast track basis is our demand so that punishment is awarded within three months.
We also demand immediate arrangement of armed security in all health care facilities, including all Covid Care Centres,” IMA state president, Dr Satyajit Borah, told TOI.