Armed with support from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), members of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) Resident Doctors’ Association intensified their agitation on Tuesday.
IMA,which has threatened to shut down OPD in all private hospitals in the State from Friday, will start a two-day black-badge protest from Wednesday. “All our district and taluk units will stage demonstrations wearing black badges in their respective hospitals and submit a memorandum to tahsildars and deputy commissioners. If the government does not initiate action against those who manhandled resident doctors in Minto hospital by Thursday, we will go for OPD closure from Friday,” said Madhusudan Kariganur, IMA, State president.
On Tuesday, the protesters took out a rally holding placards within the campus of Victoria hospital. Parents of some of the resident doctors and retired doctors of BMCRI too joined them and demanded justice for their children.
Counter protest
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) and victims of the botched cataract surgeries (conducted on July 9 in Minto hospital) held a counter protest in front of Town Hall demanding arrest of doctors who conducted the eye surgeries.
“We never manhandled or assaulted any doctor. We were seeking justice for victims of the botched eye surgeries. Following the cataract surgeries, the vision of 22 people has been adversely affected. Some have lost vision completely,” alleged Narayan Gowda, KRV State president.
Patients hit
Alleging that KRV members had “manhandled” two resident doctors, who were on duty at the State-run Minto Ophthalmic Hospital on Friday evening, the resident doctors launched an indefinite ‘OPD boycott’ on Saturday. With post-graduate doctors in teaching hospitals providing over 70% of out-patient services, patients visiting the BMCRI-affiliated hospitals — Minto, PMSSY, Trauma and Emergency Care Centre and Victoria hospitals — saw long queues as patients waited to see a doctor.
Although Medical Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan appealed to doctors to withdraw their strike, the protesters refused to budge till the KRV members are arrested.
Asserting that the government would not allow anyone to use the recent incident in Minto hospital for “political gains”, the Minister said, “There are some people who are trying to reap political gains out of this sensitive issue. I appeal to resident doctors to not fall prey to such people.”
