Health service affected in Tripura due to doctors protest

Agartala: Health service in Tripura has continued been affected in all the health establishments and hospitals on the second day today following protest of the doctors against attack on medicos by ruling CPI(M) goons in Gandacherra sub-divisional hospital on January 15 last.

The professional bodies of the doctors held demonstration yesterday in all the hospitals including Agartala Govt Medical College (AGMC) demanding arrest of the accused and ensuring security of the health workers in the state besides, improving service facilities.

However, health minister Badal Choudhury said that doctor organisations had met him and police was asked to arrest the accused and added, "The government will not tolerate any kind of violence and unlawful activities in any public establishments. Police is asked to act as per law against the accused without considering any political affiliation."

Police said, two accused Prasanta Kapali (35) and Krishna Das (40), the ruling party cadres of Gandacherra have been on run after the incident. Allegedly, the duo attacked the doctor on duty alleging not responding to their call for picking up patient from a house.

"I have been severely beaten up in the hospital and they threatened me to kill unless I leave the place immediately. I could not realise what my fault was. I had received a call from local CPM MLA Lalit Tripura to send ambulance for picking up a patient. Immediately, ambulance was sent but no patient was there. They had gone to MLA's house to get clarification of where about of the patient but no response was there. Later, the accused attacked me in the hospital alleging non-response to the call," stated victim doctor Soumen Sarkar.

The senior doctors alleged that the state government and chief minister has made a motivated campaign against doctors, engineers, doctors and all other professionals to cover up the failure of the government to ensure services in the establishments, which instigated the common people to resort violence against them.

"Chief Minister Sarkar has utterly failed to provide required infrastructure and adequate doctors with diagnostic facilities to the hospitals, which is the main reason public resentment and every time intentionally entire blames has been shifted to doctors. Same thing is practice in case of teachers and other service providers," alleged senior Physician Dr Ashok Sinha.

He further argued whenever, Chief Minister get a chance abused the doctors and teachers blaming for not doing duty properly but as on date his administration did not able to take action against any doctor for negligence of duty except instigating the common mass against them.

"Even after 12 years of the existence of AGMC and Tripura Medical College (TMC), the state could not able to manage the healthcare system. More than a thousand of doctors including specialists were produced but still hospitals are not able to provide treatment. The government neither able to provide required teachers in the medical college nor ensure treatment in the hospital due to wrong policy," Sinha stated.

He also maintained that the newly recruited young doctors to rural hospitals without MCI mandated training where 70 per cent patients are residing and all senior and specialist doctors are posted in Agartala to cater the service of 30 percent patient, which is the root cause of all problems.

Meanwhile, the internees of Tripura Medical College have continued their 'cease work' agitation to press for the demand of increased monthly stipend of Rs 18,000 at par with students of government run AGMC for third consecutive day that paralysed the functioning of the hospital.