Medical professionals staged a 24-hour shutdown on Saturday to protest the rape and murder of a doctor this month in the eastern city of Kolkata. As a result, hospitals and clinics throughout India turned away patients save for emergency cases.
The most populous country in the world’s medical services would come to a complete standstill if over a million doctors were to join the strike. According to hospitals, medical college faculty members have been called upon to handle emergency cases.
After meeting with leaders of medical associations, the government released a statement on Saturday urging physicians to resume their work in the public interest. It stated that a committee would be formed by the government to recommend ways to strengthen protection for medical practitioners.
In response, the Indian Medical Association said it was studying the government offer, but it did not call off the strike, which was due to end at 6 a.m.(0030 GMT) on Sunday.
The walk-out was the latest action in response to the killing of a 31-year old trainee doctor last week inside the medical college in Kolkata where she worked.
The crime has triggered nationwide protests among medical workers and a public outpouring of anger over violence against women reminiscent of what followed the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012.
The strike halted access to elective medical procedures and out-patient consultations, according to the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
There was a heavy police presence outside Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College where the woman was killed, while the hospital premises were deserted, according to the ANI news agency.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, which includes Kolkata, has backed the protests across the state. Her government announced on Saturday evening measures to improve security for women working night shifts, including designated rest rooms and safe zones monitored by cameras.
It also asked private institutions to consider measures such as night patrols to make the working environment more secure for women.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has so far detained one suspect in the case.
The CBI summoned a number of medical students from the college as part of its investigation, according to a police source in Kolkata, who said the agency also questioned the principal of the hospital on Friday.
There were protests throughout the day in Kolkata, led by doctors, civil society members and political leaders. A large number of private clinics and diagnostic centres were closed.
Dr Sandip Saha, a private paediatrician in the city, told Reuters he would not attend to patients except in emergencies.
Hospitals and clinics in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Guwahati in Assam and Chennai in Tamil Nadu and other cities joined the strike, set to be one of the largest shutdowns of hospital services in recent memory.
