Doctors working in private hospitals and clinics on Saturday boycotted treatment, consultation and diagnosis of outpatients in response to a call from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for a Statewide strike for 24 hours in protest against filing of cases against medical practitioners on the grounds of negligence without ‘prima facie.’
As many as 150 private nursing homes and hospitals remained closed in the city. Private hospitals in nearby towns likes Manaparai, Lalgudi and Thuraiyur also remained closed. About 400 clinics, which would generally remain open for an hour or two daily, also remained closed in support of the strike call, affecting hundreds of patients, who came to the clinics for treatment and consultation. The private laboratories also did not function.
These doctors urged the State government to implement the law on protection of medical professionals and properties. Government doctors extended moral support to the strike call by attending duty by wearing black badges.
S. Sethuraman, president, Indian Medical Association, Tiruchi branch, told The Hindu that the strike evoked good response. Almost all 1500 members of the IMA in Tiruchi had taken part in the strike. However, treatment of in-patients was not affected.
It was held basically to unite medical professionals against repeated attacks on hospitals and doctors on charge of medical negligence by relatives of patients and anti-social elements. He said the Tamil Nadu Hospital Protection Act, enacted in 2008, should be properly implemented in order to prevent violence and damage of properties and medical professionals.