Around 1,200 junior doctors at the country’s premier medical institute, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, turned up for work on Wednesday wearing driving helmets, to express solidarity with doctors protesting in Maharashtra.
This protest is part of the nation-wide ‘SavetheSaviours’ campaign demanding a safe working environment for all government doctors.
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Rise in violence
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Junior doctors in Maharashtra have abstained from work for four days now, protesting the rise in violence against them by patients’ relatives.
The State government has asked them to return to work by Wednesday evening or risk losing six months’ salary.
“Nobody has sympathy for the resident doctors who were brutally beaten up. There has been no discussion about compensation. Instead, harsh steps are being taken,’’ said Vijay Gurjar, president of the resident doctors’ association at AIIMS.
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Salary deduction
“Government officials, instead of providing security to resident doctors at their workplace, are now threatening to deduct salary and throwing them out of their hostels,” he said.
Resident doctors in Delhi will go on mass leave on March 23 (Thursday) between 9 a.m. and 4 pm. “Only emergency duty schedule of resident doctors will be followed during this time,” This step is being taken in view of the increasing instances of assaults on doctors and to show solidarity towards our colleagues from Maharashtra. And we condemn the action taken by the Govt of Maharashtra against doctors,’’ said a release issued by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) in Delhi.