Kolkata: After the benefit of a constructive meeting with the Chief-Minister of Bengal, the junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the fifth day of their hunger strike have decided to leave it, a significant step up in the action process. The strike was carried out first because of complaints raised over time for the improvement of the healthcare system and their working conditions.
Meeting with Mamata Banerjee
During Friday’s talks, Banerjee assured the doctors that their demands for the attention of infrastructure and working conditions would be treated with utmost seriousness. Banerjee assured them of her commitment to resolve those systemic issues haunting government hospitals in West Bengal and said the facilities would be upgraded and amenities provided for healthcare workers immediately.
“We decided to call off our strike and resume emergency services since we believe the government will be fair to us,” spoke the representative for the junior doctors. Their primary demands were for better working conditions and infrastructure.
Key Issues Raised by the Doctors
The junior doctors, among others, protested to be given more medical staff and equipment and called for improved housing for resident doctors. They pointed out the long hours they are required to work and very high pressure in dealing with critical cases, more so than in an emergency department.
The doctors contending the dilapidated conditions in many hospitals in the region argued that these conditions adversely affect the quality of health delivery to patients, and the attendant shortage of medical supplies and adequately trained personnel had worsened the situation, causing medical personnel to go through immense stress.
Assurance from the State Government
Following these complaints, Banerjee assured the house that she would work tirelessly to redress the demands. She told doctors improvement in facilities, hospital infrastructure, and advanced medical facilities would be carried out on a time-and-situation basis across state-run hospitals. Improved working conditions and an increased number of healthcare workers to reduce the burden on the few available staff would be looked into.
Banerjee reiterated that the government was making efforts to modernize the healthcare system in West Bengal, providing better working conditions for healthcare professionals. These would include recruitment schemes for doctors and nursing staff and better quality services from government-run hospitals.
Resumption of Services
With the strike suspended, emergency services at RG Kar Medical College, which had borne the brunt of it, are likely to resume by Saturday morning. Medical services were severely disrupted by the ongoing hunger strike, especially emergency services, where patients had to wait hours before being treated.
This came as a relief to both the medical community and the public, who felt the strike ongoing health services disruption. Junior doctors have promised to keep an eye on everything the state government does to ensure it lives up to the same promises by the end of the meeting.
This situation will be looked into very closely by both the medical fraternity and the government, with general optimism that this will, in effect, become a turning point for reform in the health structure across the state.
The junior doctors’ hunger strike drew attention to several important issues that plague the healthcare system in West Bengal. With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee finally stepping in, the prospect of goodwill and improvement targeted at the doctors’ working conditions and patients’ healthcare standards looks bright.
