Doctors in Kozhikode go on strike in protest against the killing of Kolkata PG student

Deserted OP ticket counters at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode following the doctors’ strike on Saturday. | Photo credit: K. Ragesh

Members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kozhikode branch, joined the 24-hour strike from August 17 morning in protest against the rape and killing of a postgraduate medical student at RG Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata.

A protest rally was organized in the morning at Kidson Corner in the city. IMA State Treasurer Roy R. Chandran inaugurated the rally which was attended by hundreds of doctors and medical students. Among others, IMA Kozhikode President Raju Balaram and representatives of Kerala Government Medical Officers Association, Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association and Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association were present. Members of the Kerala Government Nurses Union and nursing students held a protest meeting at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.

Members of the Indian Medical Association, Kozhikode branch, are staging a protest demonstration at Mananchira in Kozhikode on Saturday. | Photo credit: K. Ragesh

Meanwhile, services in all major hospitals, including the medical college hospital, have been disrupted due to the strike. Those who came to seek outpatient treatment had to return without meeting the doctors. Some patients and their caregivers who reached the medical faculty hospital were not aware of the strike and were initially given OP tickets. They learned about the protest only later.

At the Government General Hospital, a sign was displayed later in the day saying “There will be no PO services on August 17”. However, doctors attended to those who needed emergency care and surgery.