Resident doctors across Madhya Pradesh have now joined in on the protest against the suicide of 27-year-old pregnant PG resident doctor Dr Bala Saraswathi at Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal.
On Saturday, August 5, all junior doctors across the state called for an indefinite strike, boycotting all medical duties including emergency services to show solidarity with the protestors at GMC Bhopal.
Dr Hradyesh Dixit, President, Junior Doctors Association, Madhya Pradesh told EdexLive, “There are six medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh with resident doctors and all six of these institutes are supporting the protest. The junior residents face institutional harassment on a regular basis, especially by HoDs (Heads of Department) who have been given so much power. I was a resident in General Surgery myself and I have faced similar issues. Because almost none of the colleges have biometric systems, HoDs have all the authority over our attendance records and so on.”
The junior resident doctors at GMC Bhopal have been protesting for over five days, demanding the resignation of Dr Aruna Kumar, former Head of the Department (HoD), Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Though the college released a notice on Wednesday, August 2, replacing the HoD and handing over the responsibility of the department to Assistant Professor Dr Bharti Parihar in the aftermath of massive protests, the protestors were not satisfied.
Demands
The resignation of Dr Aruna Kumar from GMC Bhopal is the primary demand of the protestors, alleging that she had a role to play in the young doctor's suicide. She allegedly harassed Dr Saraswathi, did not sign her attendance or thesis nor permitted Dr Saraswathi to take maternity leave.
Moreover, it is also being urged that a committee be formed to evaluate the toxic work environment and academic issues in medical colleges and strict actions be taken against it.
“We have been protesting for five days and since 8 am today, the resident doctors are on an indefinite strike. This is a serious matter and if our concerns are not addressed we will have to call a nationwide protest. We only hope that we will not need to do that,” expressed Dr Sanket Site, President of GMC JUDA.
Expressing concern over the increasing number of suicides among junior doctors, the protestors also demanded that a suicide prevention committee be constituted and a helpline number be made available from the Department of Health Education which directly deals with problems of Resident Doctors.
The doctors had also held a black ribbon protest across the state on Friday, August 4, to show solidarity with the protestors.
Support from faculty?
Moreover, professors and faculty members have also reportedly come out in support of junior doctors in Dr Bala Saraswathi's suicide case.
In a letter doing rounds on social media, a group of doctors of the OBGYN department have allegedly written to MPTA (Madhya Pradesh medical teachers association) President supporting the allegations against the former HoD Dr Aruna Kumar.
The letter, written in Hindi, said “We all lend our full support to the allegations going around on social media about the former HoD Dr Aruna Kuma. We have all been mentally harassed, abused, threatened and treated like bonded labour by Dr Aruna Kumar"
The letter demanded the immediate removal of Dr Kumar from the system of GMC, Bhopal, and the suspension of other teachers who have been blamed till the completion of the investigation.
It further mentioned that many faculty members and junior doctors have left the institution in the past due to mental harassment and it has affected the academic ability of many UG and PG students as well.
