Raking up the issue of National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill yet again, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has once again called for the withdrawal of all medical services in all the healthcare facilities across the country on 8 August.
Briefing the media about the call for a nationwide bandh, the IMA said the core concern of the medical fraternity has been left unaddressed in the NMC Bill.
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“The call is for all the modern medicine doctors to leave their workplace across the sectors at all levels on August 8 from 6 am to 6 am (next day),” said IMA President Dr Santanu Sen. The decision was taken at an emergency Extended Action Committee meeting convened at the IMA headquarters on Monday.
Sharing the details about protest, IMA informed that the doctors’ body has also called for demonstrations and hunger strikes at its local branches and urged medical students to boycott classes and proclaim solidarity with the IMA.
Meanwhile, members of the AIIMS Students’ Union staged a protest in front of the institute and boycotted all academic activities on Monday.
Dr Sen explained his concern over the overall bill and in particular the point about the healthcare providers under section 32 of the Bill, saying it will encourage quackery. Section 32 proposes to provide licences to practise modern medicines to persons other than those having MBBS degrees but who are closely associated with modern medicine.
He also said, “There was no clarity over the introduction of NEXT and scrapping the NEET-PG.”
On Sunday, resident doctors of AIIMS and Safdarjung hospital had called off their strike and resumed duties after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured them that their concerns over the NMC Bill will be duly addressed.
The doctors have been demonstrating against certain provisions of the Bill since its passage in Rajya Sabha last week.
