In response to the ongoing strike, protesting doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, have started offering telemedicine services as of today, Saturday, August 31. This was stated in an exclusive report by The Week.

Despite appeals from the Supreme Court and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the doctors refused to return to their regular duties. The telemedicine service will run daily from 10 am to 2 pm.

The strike, which began following the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital, has led doctors at various state-run institutions to stop working in protest. This has greatly disrupted medical services, especially in emergency and outpatient departments, leaving many patients without care.

The telemedicine service, named Abhaya Clinic in memory of the victim, is being operated by postgraduate trainees and interns at RG Kar MCH under the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF). It has provided essential support to many patients, according to the report by The Week.

Dr Riya Bera from the gynaecology and obstetrics department at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital told The Week, “We were overwhelmed by the responses today. Although the clinic was set to start at 10 am, we began receiving calls from 9.30 am.”

Today, August 31, 50 doctors worked in shifts to assist over 600 patients through the telemedicine service. They managed calls on four phone lines and sent prescriptions via WhatsApp.

Dr Bera explained, “At any time, 10-12 doctors were handling calls. We assigned three doctors to each phone line because calls kept coming in one after another.”

Doctors from various departments, including medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, orthopaedics, paediatrics, ENT, and dermatology, provided services. These departments were chosen because they handle a broad range of common medical issues.

The protesting doctors at RG Kar MCH are considering expanding their telemedicine services. Dr Md Tarikul Alam from the orthopaedics department said to The Week, “We didn’t expect so many calls today. If this continues, we will definitely add more phone lines and doctors.”

The doctors emphasised that the telemedicine service is not a sign of resuming their regular duties or a substitute for the care they normally provide. Instead, it is a partial solution to help patients while their protest continues.

The protesting doctors also clarified that the telemedicine service was not started in response to appeals from the Supreme Court or Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They stressed that this service shows their willingness to return to work but only if their demands are met.

Furthermore, Dr Aniket Mahato from the anaesthesia department, a prominent figure in the movement, told The Week, “We want to resume work. But if our demands are not met, we will have to continue the strike.”

In addition to the telemedicine service, the WBJDF plans to hold physical health camps, also named Abhaya Clinic, in areas near medical colleges across the state, tomorrow, Sunday, September 1. These camps will run from 10 am to 2 pm.

Following this, on September 2, junior doctors will march to the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar to demand the resignation of Commissioner Vineet Goyal, stated a report by The Week.