WB doctors end strike after talks with Mamata

Kolkata, June 17 

Doctors in West Bengal called off their week-long strike on Monday night after meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who assured them of steps to scale up security at government hospitals in the state.

The breakthrough came on a day health services, especially OPDs, were crippled across the country as doctors held protests and boycotted work to show solidarity with their colleagues in West Bengal, who were on strike since Tuesday protesting assault on their two colleagues by kin of a patient, who died in NRS Hospital and Medical College.

At an hour-long televised meeting with representatives of doctors, Banerjee announced a number of steps, including asking police to appoint nodal officers for security of doctors at all government hospitals in the state, following which the doctors agreed to end the stir.

The formal announcement was made after a general body meeting of the joint forum of doctors at the NRS Hospital, the epicentre of the agitation.

A spokesperson for the joint forum told mediapersons here that the doctors would return to work as they want to give the state government some time to act on its promises, but they would review the implementation of the steps.

“Our meeting and discussion with the CM met a logical end. We temporarily withdraw from our ceasework. Considering everything we expect the government to solve the issues as discussed in due time,” he said.

Earlier, the protesting doctors had rebuffed the Chief Minister’s offer for talks expressing apprehension about their security after she proposed a “closed door” meeting at state secretariat Nabanna. Banerjee had visited the SSKM hospital here on Thursday and had warned of strict action against the striking doctors. She had alleged that the BJP and CPM were instigating the protesters and giving it communal colour. 

However, the two sides softened their stands over the weekend. The end of the strike came as a big relief to hundreds of patients as health services have been disrupted across the state for seven days. The West Bengal doctors received support from across the country. On the call of IMA, medicos in Delhi and other states withdrew from non-emergency healthcare services.

Banerjee directed formation of grievance redressal units in all state-run hospitals as proposed by the junior doctors. Doctors struck work in Delhi, UP, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other parts of the country. — PTI