Junior doctor who are protesting the murder-rape of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, last month said the agitation will continue and sought a second meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The TMC government had earlier appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as Kolkata Police Commissioner after the doctors wanted to former city top cop Vineeth Goyal removed. Director of Health Services (DHS) Debashis Halder, Director of Medical Education (DME) Kaustav Nayak and Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police's North Division Abhishek Gupta were also removed.
Calling the state's administrative measures "only partial victory" of their movement, the protesters said they want the government to remove State Health Secretary N.S. Nigam as assured by Mamata during their Monday meeting.
The doctors sent an email to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Wednesday for an appointment with Mamata for a second meeting. They also sought discussions on how the government will implement security measures for doctors on hospital premises and demanded a detailed rundown on how the Rs 100 crore allocated for the safety of doctors will be spent.
The protesting medics stated that the public healthcare delivery mechanism should be overhauled thoroughly to ensure effective security measures. Their demands included streamlining of the referral system, the appointment of health workers and professional patient counsellors, cracking down on corruption in the admission process and ensuring availability of life-saving drugs.
They also sought immediate notification of the chief secretary-headed task force in medical colleges which was promised at the meeting at Banerjee's residence on Monday. The doctors said that student body elections should be held with adequate representation of junior doctors in the highest policy-making bodies of the institutions.