Emergency and OPD services in all state government-run hospitals in Madhya Pradesh were affected as the junior doctors, along with members of medical teachers association, went on a protest on Saturday.

The junior doctors and teachers of Bhopal’s Gandhi Medical College (GMC) have been in protest after the death of Dr Bala Saraswati on July 31.

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Extending support to GMC doctors, the junior doctors of all major cities – Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar, Rewa and others have gone on strike affecting medical services especially in OPD and emergency wards.

The protest is being carried out under the banner of Junior Doctors Association (JUDA).

Adequate infrastructures, grievance redressal system, health working environment, resolution of seat-leave bonding and some others have been constant demands of junior doctors associated with medical colleges in the state.

They have staged protests for pushing their demands several times in the past, however, the state administration was yet to come out with any concrete steps to resolve the issues.

The fresh round of protest began after the alleged suicide of a female junior Dr Bala Saraswati, a resident of Hyderabad.

She was pursuing her post-graduate (PG) in gynaecology from Bhopal’s GMC.

In her suicide note, Dr Bala has alleged that toxic work culture and harassment forced her to take extreme steps. The doctor was 14 weeks pregnant when she injected an overdose of anesthesia at her room in Koh-e-Fiza area in Bhopal on July 31.

It is the second such incident reported at Bhopal’s GMC in the last seven months blaming the same toxic work culture.

On January 24 this year, a 27-year-old junior doctor Akanksha Maheswari, a resident of Gwalior, had died by suicide and she had also blamed toxic culture at GMC.

Dr Nishit Vadaviya, president of JUDA of Sagar Medical College talking to IANS said, “Situation in almost all medical colleges are same in Madhya Pradesh. We can’t even complain about harassment. The government would do nothing except pressuring us to work at any condition. And if we raise our voices, they would threaten us to ruin our future. This is the way medical colleges and government-run hospitals in Madhya Pradesh are operating.”

Dr Ashay Dwivedi, head of junior doctors in Sanjay Gandhi Medical College
(SGMC)- Rewa, said the doctors have to bear work in a toxic culture day and night. “Situation in Rewa is worse as we have to work in acute pressure. SGMC caters the patients from five to six adjoining districts.

“Besides departmental pressure, we also have to handle political pressure here. Every local politician would come and harass the doctors. This toxic culture needs to be stopped now,” Dr Dwivedi added.