Hardly five days after joining work in state-run medical colleges’ essential emergency services, the junior doctors on Thursday sent yet another email to the state chief secretary, Manoj Pant, reminding him their unresolved demands, discussed during their earlier meeting at state secretariat on 18 September.
The agitating doctors, under the banner of the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), formed after the horrific rape-murder of the woman PGT doctor inside her workplace in the chest medicine ward of the R G Kar Medical College Hospital on 9 August, have been demanding justice for the incident and end of threat culture at state healthcare facilities.
In the two-page letter mailed to Mr Pant, representatives of the WBJDF stated, “We would like to mention that no action has been taken/no order has been passed in regard to some of the important demands placed and agreed upon by both the parties.” The junior doctors emphasised that during the 18 September meeting, which involved a special task force, presided over by Mr Pant, their key demands were verbally agreed upon.
They reiterated demands for the formation of a central inquiry committee to address the alleged threat culture in all medical colleges across the state.
The letter also highlighted the need for individual colleges to establish ‘college-level enquiry committees’, which should comprise undergraduate medical students and resident doctors to investigate those involved in fostering this environment.
Furthermore, the WBJDF letter reminded Mr Pant of their demand for the state government to form an inquiry committee against the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) and West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB) members in charge of allegedly promoting the threat culture and running health syndicates,
insisting this agenda should be done within the next seven working days.
Additional demands included the establishment of a college-level task force or monitoring committee in every medical college and hospital, as well as implementing a proper and transparent transfer policy for all recruited medical personnel.
The junior doctors had resumed their duties on 21 September after a prolonged 42-day cease-work in OPDs of 26 government teaching hospitals followed by a sit-in protest in front of the Swasthya Bhawan at Salt Lake.