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- By Parinda News Bureau, February 28, 2006, 11:37 IST
The 1,500 resident doctors, on an indefinite strike to protest the assault of their colleagues by patients' relatives at KEM and Bhabha Hospital on Monday, have been asked to resume their duties or to face MSESMA (Maharashtra state Essential Services Maintenance Act).
Additional Municipal Commissioner Vijay Singh Patankar urged them to cooperate and not hamper health services. He also threatened to lodge a police complaint against the striking doctors if they failed to resume duty by 8 am on Tuesday. Even Municipal Commissioner Johnny Jose-ph took a tough line. He told FPJ, "I have appealed to them to withdraw their strike in the larger public interest. If they do not do so, the BMC will take prompt action."
On Sunday afternoon, 75 year-old Sumitra Walavalkar who had been admitted to KEM for respiratory problems a few days back, died & her daughter Chandrakala Wala-valkar (40) assaulted junior resident doctor Dr Rohan.
In another incident at Bhabha hospital, a relative of Heena Begum Rafik Sheikh (25), who entered the women's ward, abused and beat up Dr Ranjeeta Bajaj for asking her to remove her footwear before coming into the ward. Yasmin Shaikh is now under arrest at the Bandra police station.
"We have demanded greater security in hospitals because it has come to our notice that incidents of roughing up doctors have become very common," Shrikant Pandit, president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors told newspersons here. "Around 500 doctors from J J Hospital and another 500 from King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital have already joined us. Around 1,500 more are likely to join us. We will decide at a joint meeting how to deal with the government on this issue," Pandit said. Concerned at the growing assault cases, Patankar said police chowkies were already in existence at civic hospitals. "Security is not the only solution, cooperation from the doctors and patients is required", he said. He also spoke on the need to have walkie-talkies and close circuit televisions (CCTVs) to tackle situations like this. Official security arrangements will be made in peripheral hospitals, he promised.
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