Pune: Thousands of doctors stayed away from taking any non-emergency medical cases on Wednesday, as doctors from across the country were on 24-hour strike opposing the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill which is likely to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
President of IMA Maharashtra Dr Avinash Bhondwe stated that it was likely that the strike will continue beyond the scheduled time of 6 am (Wednesday) to 6 pm (Thursday).
“Except for emergency cases, all non-emergency services were closed. We learned that some doctors couldn’t postpone their surgeries but we consider those operations under emergency services. Hence exceptions were made as we don’t wish to harm our patients. We only want to be heard by the government,” said Dr Bhondwe.
President of Indian Medical Association (IMA) Pune Chapter Dr Sanjay Patil stated that most of the doctors in the city joined the protest. “Some of the doctors had to attend to some operations which were scheduled on Wednesday. Also, even though corporate or private hospitals were functional, many doctors did not attend the outpatient department (OPD),” said Dr Patil.
There are around 4,800 doctors associated with IMA in Pune.
Dr Patil said many medical students at some colleges did not attend their classes to support the protest.
“There were 30 to 40 doctors who were part of the strike. But as the strike was called on short notice, some of the doctors could not postpone their lined-up surgeries for the day. Nevertheless, we all continue to support this protest,” said Medical Director of Ruby Hall Clinic Dr Sanjay Pathare.
An official statement released by IMA, Pune stated, ‘Draconian NMC Bill was passed in Lok Sabha hurriedly. In protest, there was a complete withdrawal of non-emergency services all across Pune city.
There was a spontaneous response from all corporate hospitals and clinical establishments. The meeting was organised at IMA House on Tilak Road which was followed by a demonstration against the Bill.”
Unless the Bill is made patient-centric, pro-poor and necessary amendments are made, there will be intense protests, indefinite withdrawal of non-emergency services and hunger strikes from Friday onwards, stated an official statement released by Dr Sanjay Patil.
