Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee addressed the protesting junior doctors today, Saturday, September 14, a gesture they welcomed whole-hearted. However, they remain firm on their decision to continue the protests till their five demands are discussed transparently in a meeting with the CM that is live telecasted. Further, they condemned the accusation of their protests being blamed for the rise in patient deaths in the state.
It may be recalled that the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF) started the sit-in protests at Swasthya Bhawan, Kolkata on September 10, demanding justice for the postgraduate trainee doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital who was raped and murdered on August 9.
With days passing by and a lack of dialogue between the protestors and the CM, one thing that has remained constant is the blame on the protests of junior doctors for the disruptions in the healthcare services. In today's (September 14) address, the CM said, "I believe many have died due to lack of treatment. Your parents are also worried. Please join work."
One thing that hasn't changed over all these days and conversations is the accusation against the disruptions in healthcare services brought on by protests. "I think many have died due to lack of treatment," the chief minister stated in today's address.
Based on arguments raised by Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing the state government, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud also alluded to this during the most recent Supreme Court hearing.
Following this, the doctors who are protesting say that the blame is incorrect and denounce the claims.
Striking a remarkable point, a protesting doctor, on condition of anonymity, said, "Junior residents (JRs) are trainee doctors with a five-year bachelor's degree. They form around 7,500 of the total registered doctors, which are around 93,000."
Similarly, an MBBS doctor, Abhinaba Pal, said, "The reality is that only 2% of the entire registered doctors are junior doctors." Further, he alleged that the claims made by Senior Advocate Sibal in the apex court about the deaths of patients were unfounded.
"Additionally, the claims made by the state government about the patient deaths are from hospitals lacking junior doctors," he stated.
"We are less in number, and the idea of running the whole healthcare system on the JRs is inaccurate. Even though we are protesting, senior residents and senior faculties are working relentlessly," the protesting doctor added.
WBJDF statement
According to a statement issued by the WBJDF, there are 245 government hospitals, 26 medical colleges, less than 7,500 junior doctors, and nearly 93,000 registered doctors.
"We form a very small fraction of the total doctors in the state," the protesting doctor reiterated.
Making a prominent point, the MBBS doctor questioned the sorry state of healthcare services in the state, saying, "Even if we do believe what the government is saying, it is dreadful and scary because it would mean that the entire healthcare system is run only by the junior residents."
Pointing out the lapses in the system, he said there has been no recruitment for the General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs) posts for the past four years and various other vacancies in government hospitals continue.
