Kolkata doctor murder: AIIMS, Safdarjung medics to continue strike

NEW DELHI: Several city hospitals, including the AIIMS and Safdarjung, continued their strike on Wednesday in protest against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. The Resident Doctors' Associations of AIIMS, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Indira Gandhi Hospital continued the strike for a third day on the trot, shutting down OPDs, OTs, and wards.

The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), after a meeting with Resident Doctor Associations (RDAs) from across states and Institutes of National Importance, in a statement said it will stand with its peers nationwide in denouncing the murder and continue its strike. The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA), however, called off its strike after a meeting with Union Health Minister J P Nadda at his residence on Tuesday night.

The association said the decision to end the strike was taken in the interest of the welfare of patients. FORDA said, "A key outcome of the meeting was the health minister's agreement to form a committee with FORDA's involvement to work on the Central Protection Act. The ministry has assured that work on this will begin within the next 15 days."

Doctors at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College and associated hospitals here have also called off their strike. A postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College while on duty on the night of August 8. The semi-naked body of the 32-year-old woman was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in the West Bengal capital.