The incident has sparked a nationwide outrage, leading to widespread protests and disrupting hospital services across several Indian cities. An autopsy confirmed that the doctor was raped before being murdered. Thousands of doctors and citizens marched in Kolkata and other cities, demanding justice for the victim and improved security measures. As the country prepares to mark the 78th year of Independence, a massive protest is planned for the evening of August 14, with people of all genders, political leaders, and citizenry uniting to demand justice and safety for women in India.

Details on the Kolkata rape and murder case:

The family of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital shared their harrowing experience in an interview with Lallantop, recounting the traumatic events following the tragedy on August 9. The family alleged that hospital authorities initially informed them that their daughter had died by suicide and made them wait outside for three hours before they were allowed them to see her body.

In the interview, the trainee doctor’s father also recalled receiving a call from the hospital, where they were told that their daughter had died by suicide and urged to come immediately. Despite their pleas to see her, they were forced to wait for hours. After the long wait of three hours outside the seminar hall, the father was finally permitted to view his daughter’s body and was allowed to take a photo. He shared that she was unclothed, with her legs positioned unnaturally apart, a condition that suggested severe trauma to the pelvic region, indicating she had been violently assaulted.

According to a report in India Today, the post-mortem report confirmed that the trainee doctor had been subjected to “genital torture.” The report further revealed that the accused, Sanjoy Roy, had struck her with such force that her glasses shattered, and the shards caused severe injuries to her eyes. She had bleeding from her eyes, mouth, and private parts, along with injuries to her face, abdomen, neck, left leg, right hand, and lips. After this brutal assault, the accused killed her by strangulation and smothering. Her death was estimated to have occurred between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. on that Friday.

On August 14, the case took a another turn as Left-wing groups and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital authorities of attempting to tamper with evidence. The CPI(M)-affiliated Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) highlighted that renovation work had suspiciously begun near the seminar room where the doctor’s body was found just days earlier. Protestors gathered at the hospital’s Emergency building gate, accusing the authorities of trying to destroy evidence and protect those truly responsible.

Tempering of evidence started in the name of renovation in the chest department at nearly 20m from crime scene.please help #MedTwitter pic.twitter.com/o45EM6Agyu

— Dr levocetrizine (@ManiBhu12096219) August 13, 2024

Additionally, the Hindustan Times reported that a doctor from the Left-affiliated Joint Forum of Doctors claimed the post-mortem report suggested the possibility that the victim had been raped by multiple individuals.

Investigation into the RG Kar Medical College and the scams running under its principal:

It is essential to note that on the same day of the incident, Sandip Ghosh, the principal of RG Kar Medical College, had resigned from his position. In his resignation, Ghosh stated, “I am being defamed on social media. False accusations are being spread against me, and students are being provoked to demand my removal. The deceased doctor was like my child, and I want justice for her. As a parent, I am stepping down.” However, following his resignation, he was reassigned as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC) within a few hours.

On the other hand, more shocking news came as an independent investigation conducted by the Times of India uncovered numerous issues within RG Kar Medical College and Hospital under Sandip Ghosh’s leadership. One such issue was the “regular practice” of facilitating beds at the hospital for financially struggling patients from nearby nursing homes, but only in exchange for a fee.

As per the investigation, ex-principal Ghosh was well-connected with the local police station, maintaining close relationships with both junior and senior officers stationed at the hospital’s police outpost. According to a source at the hospital, he frequently collaborated with a particular junior officer to run this operation, ensuring that the money collected from desperate patients was distributed through an organized network. The TOI report stated that although Ghosh was technically part of the police welfare cell and his role at RG Kar involved assisting those admitted to the hospital, he had no official responsibilities at the police outpost. Nonetheless, he visited the outpost regularly and was heavily involved in various dubious activities. He was reportedly “at the centre of a racket involving touts who charged patients for various unethical services, such as securing multiple visiting cards, hospital beds, and priority in medical tests”.

The TOI report further provided that a source at the hospital revealed that Ghosh would target well-off patient relatives at RG Kar Hospital, luring them to nearby nursing homes by promising better treatment, often claiming that the same hospital doctors would treat them there. Additionally, he frequently boasted about his connections with senior Kolkata Police officers, even going so far as to pressure a district reserve officer to secure him a spot in the fourth battalion barracks at Bidhannagar.

Additionally, the report stated that Ghosh was known for name-dropping influential police officers to get what he wanted. He was also accused of riding a motorcycle with “KP” (Kolkata Police) written on the visor and duping young job seekers by promising them jobs in the police force in exchange for a fee. Reportedly, one source alleged that he took over Rs 2 lakh from a hawker, promising him a position as a civic volunteer.

Other than this, since the news of the incident at RG Kar Hospital broke out, which reportedly serves over 3,500 patients daily, the overworked trainee doctors gave their narration of how some of the doctors are required to work up to 36 hours straight at a hospital that lacked designated restrooms. As a result, they were forced to rest in a seminar room on the third floor.

 Calcutta High Court expresses concern while shifting probe to CBI:

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered that the criminal investigation into the incident be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), signalling the case’s importance at a national level. A division bench comprising Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya questioned the state government after it was revealed that the police had initially recorded the deceased’s death as a suicide, which was communicated to her parents, who were made to wait for hours before being allowed to see her body.

As per a report in the LiveLaw, during the proceedings, the bench had remarked “If it is a fact that somebody called the parent and told them that it was sickness and then suicide, there is a miss somewhere. If this is true that they were made to wait and mislead then the administration is loitering with them. You cannot treat the deceased like this. There should be more sensitivity. Suppose the doctors are made parties and they claim that the principal blamed the deceased and said she had psychosis, it is very serious. By now a statement should have been recorded from the principal.”

According to LiveLaw, the Court expressed concern over these events, particularly noting that if the principal resigned due to moral responsibility, it was troubling that he was reassigned to another position within 12 hours. The Court questioned, “No man is above law, how did he step down and then be rewarded with another responsibility? The principal is the guardian of all doctors working there, if he doesn’t show any empathy who will show? He should be at home not working anywhere. So powerful that a government counsel is representing him? The principal will not function. Let him go on long leave. Otherwise, we will pass an order.”

Later that day, the division bench issued an order expressing concern that the police had registered the case as an unnatural death. The Court criticized the principal and the college authorities for not taking any substantial steps to aid the investigation and ordered that the principal be placed on indefinite leave until further notice. Recognizing that under normal circumstances, a report from the state police would be sufficient, the Court acknowledged the unusual nature of the case and agreed with the victim’s parents that any further delay could result in the destruction of evidence.

In its order, the bench noted that “The parents of the victim have an apprehension that if the investigation is allowed to continue in this manner, it will derail. Therefore they pray for extraordinary relief. One more disturbing aspect is that a case of unnatural death was registered. It is submitted that such cases are registered when there is no complaint. When the deceased was a doctor in the same hospital, it is surprising why the principal did not lodge a complaint. There has been no significant progress in the investigation. The administration was not with the victim or her family. The principal has not even given a statement. Without significant progress in the investigation, we would be well justified in accepting the prayers by the victim’s parents that evidence would be destroyed. Therefore, we transfer the investigation to the CBI to do justice between parties and to inspire public confidence.” (Para 30)

Thus, the bench of the Calcutta High Court handed over the investigation to the CBI and listed the matter for further hearing after three weeks.

The complete order can be read here.

Notably, a special CBI team from Delhi had reached Kolkata on August 14 to investigate the rape-murder case.

कोलकाता के मेडिकल कॉलेज में दाखिल होती #CBI की टीम. लोगों ने लगाए “We want justice” के नारे.
#KolkataDctorDeath #BengalHorror
#JusticeForMoumita pic.twitter.com/lJwZTuqjeF

— Arvind Sharma (@sarviind) August 14, 2024

Protests by doctors:

In the city of Kolkata, following the news of the horrific crime, the medical community erupted in protests. On August 12, around 6 p.m., thousands of doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, and others gathered at RG Kar Medical College, holding placards demanding justice for the victim. The protesting doctors, who were calling for the resignation of the principal and other senior officials of the college, were further outraged by the decision to reassign Sandip Ghosh to another institution immediately after his resignation. They vowed not to allow Ghosh to assume his new role as principal of Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC). Later, doctors and students from CNMC organized a rally to RG Kar, demanding Ghosh’s removal from his new post.

ON DUTY RESIDENT DOCTOR WAS RAPED & MURDERED IN COLLEGE SEMINAR HALL IN RG KAR MEDICAL COLLEGE, #Kolkata

Justice for Victim #justice #JusticeForMoumita #KolkataDoctorDeat #Udaipur #Rajasthan #DoctorDeath #DoctorsProtest pic.twitter.com/lXhrGj0n2m

— Nursing Student (@StudentNursing7) August 13, 2024

On the streets for justice. #kolkatahorror #RGKarHospital pic.twitter.com/rXFuIpvvhj

— Doctor (@DipshikhaGhosh) August 14, 2024

On August 12, several government-run hospitals initiated an indefinite strike. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association also called for a nationwide suspension of elective services in hospitals starting Monday.

Protests spread across India on August 13, with over 8,000 government doctors in Maharashtra halting work in all hospital departments except for emergency services, as reported by local media. In Kolkata, emergency services were suspended on August 13 in almost all government-run medical college hospitals, according to state official NS Nigam, who told Reuters that the government was evaluating the impact on health services.

In New Delhi, junior doctors wearing white coats protested outside a major government hospital, holding posters that read, “Doctors are not punching bags.” Top hospitals in Delhi, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, Indira Gandhi Hospital Dwarka, PGIMS, and Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, continued their strike on August 14. The management of these hospitals announced they would maintain their strike, demanding legislation to ensure the safety of healthcare workers.

In light of horrific incident involving brutal murder & assault of our colleague in Kolkata, @AIIMSRDA have made difficult decision to suspend all elective services until justice is served
We urgently call for enhanced safety measures in workplace to protect us.#RGKarHospital pic.twitter.com/bxNkoGypO8

— Dr RishiRS (AIIMS ND) (@DrRishiRajSinh1) August 12, 2024

Similar protests affected hospital services in other cities, such as Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, and in Goa.

Yesterday Biggest Massive protest of AIIMS #RISHIKESH Doctors in support of #RGKAR medical college Victim ..

Demands – Quick strict actions on Culprits & Central protection act for avoid further such inhuman Crime .#KolkataDoctorDeath #kolkatahorror #Nirbhaya2 #medtwitter pic.twitter.com/XAlAoVg3ma

— Indian Doctor (@Indian__doctor) August 14, 2024

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the country’s largest doctors’ organization, sent a letter to Health Minister JP Nadda on August 13, highlighting the “pedestrian working conditions, inhuman workloads, and workplace violence” that healthcare workers face. They met with him for talks later that day.

In response to the widespread unrest, India’s medical education regulator, the National Medical Commission, issued a notice to all medical institutions, calling for the installation of CCTV cameras in sensitive areas and the provision of adequate security staff. The notice, reported by newspapers on Tuesday, also recommended that all campus corridors be well-lit in the evening to ensure the safety of staff moving around the premises.

Protests by citizenry:

Women in Kolkata and across Bengal will take to the streets late night today in a massive show of defiance, marching against the violence that took one of their own. Women in thousands are preparing to take part in a powerful ‘Reclaim the Night’ march at midnight on August 14. This march, set to unfold just before India’s Independence Day on August 15, is a demand for the “independence to live in freedom and without fear”. The march will span at least 45 locations across Bengal, with the movement growing as more people from the suburbs join in, The Telegraph reported. Slogans like “Justice for RG Kar,” “The Night is Ours,” “Reclaim the Night,” and “Meyera Raat er Dhokhol Koro” (Women, seize the night) are being echoed across social media, and shared widely on WhatsApp, as a rallying cry for justice and change.

Posters detailing the protest locations are flooding social media, with new spots being added as more and more voices join the chorus. Men are also stepping up in large numbers, standing in solidarity with the women who are reclaiming their streets. Till now, there have been reports of several prominent figures, including actor Swastika Mukherjee, actor Churni Ganguly, and filmmaker Pratim D. Gupta, urging people to join the midnight gathering at whichever location is most accessible to them. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given the city police a deadline until Sunday to complete the investigation. She has assured the victim’s family that if they desire, the state government will recommend a CBI probe, affirming that the government has nothing to hide.

 

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A post shared by Progressive Doctors’ League (@pdl_india)

The call for justice is not confined to the state of West Bengal. As the messages about the march spread on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, political leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties have pledged their support to this unprecedented, and thus far apolitical, movement. Demonstrations are already taking place in Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Protesters stand united, holding placards that read, “Justice needs to be served,” “No duty without security,” and “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

This wave of protests, marked by both anguish and determination, is a cry from the heart of a society that refuses to be silenced. It is a demand for safety, respect, and the right to live without fear, resonating far beyond the West Bengal.

pic.twitter.com/zjTi3Yheag

— Subhashini Ali (@SubhashiniAli) August 14, 2024

Bangalore, show up pic.twitter.com/LcoAzkqTNy

— Disha Ravi 𓆉 (@disharavii) August 14, 2024

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The post India’s cry for justice: The brutal Kolkata rape-murder of a young doctor has ignited nationwide protests on the eve of the 78th Independence’s Day appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As many as 650 doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) died due to Covid-19 during the second wave of the virus, said Secretary General Jayesh Lele on June 10, 2021.

In a state-wise break-up of deaths country-wide over the last two months or so, the IMA stated that as many as 109 deaths were recorded in national capital Delhi. Bihar and then Uttar Pradesh follow close behind, indicating no change in state rank in IMA data.

However, a comparison with the June 2 state-wise break-up shows that Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have shown the highest increase in doctors’ death from 67 recognised deaths on June 2, to 79 deaths in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, and from 21 recognised deaths on June 2, to 32 deaths in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Overall, the two data sets show that at least 56 doctors died in India within eight days of which one death remains unknown. As per the IMA website, 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives in 2020 while working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, within the first half of 2021, the second wave is inching closer to last year’s toll. During an online workshop earlier, Lele has voiced his concern about the physical assault on doctors that is highlighted in the current health crisis. As per The Hindu, he said the medical fraternity was vulnerable to such attacks in the absence of adequate mechanisms to ensure their safety.

During earlier talks with SabrangIndia, IMA officials said that the family of these health workers could avail compensation via insurance. However, few urban families in Delhi and Tamil Nadu have been able to avail the compensation so far.

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The post 650 doctors dead due to Covid-19 in around 2 months appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As many as 594 doctors across India died due to Covid-19 during the second wave, said the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on June 2, 2021.

As per state-wise list released by the IMA, national capital Delhi has recorded the highest number of fatalities with 107 deaths, followed by 96 deaths in Bihar and 67 deaths in Uttar Pradesh. These three regions together account for 40 percent of doctor deaths recorded in 2021.

According to the NDTV, 748 doctors died due to Covid-19 in 2020. However, as shown on IMA’s website, 864 modern medicine doctors sacrificed their lives as healthcare workers dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic last year.

Meanwhile, India reported 1.34 lakh daily new cases in the last 24 hours on June 3. The Covid-19 India website recorded 3.38 lakh deaths in the country so far with Maharashtra (96,751), Karnataka (30,017), Tamil Nadu (25,205), Delhi (24,402) and Uttar Pradesh (20,787) ranking as the top five states.

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The post 594 doctors died during second wave of Covid-19: IMA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“We are being ‘reviewed’ all the time. Our teams are out on the field all day, giving medicines to Covid positive patients, helping them isolate, giving samples for testing… then at around 4-5 pm the deputy district head calls us for reviews… we are then duty bound to go and give this review to the administrative heads… but we are blamed even if medicines are in short supply, or if some patient has given an incorrect address and cannot be verified…,” says a Doctor, one of many who are in charge of Community Health Centres and Primary Health Care centres in Unnao. He along with many colleagues have quit, citing official harassment and being subjected to threats and abusive language.

14 doctors incharge of rural @UPGovt hospitals in Unnao quit their posts last evening , saying they were fed up of ‘misbehaviour’ by superiors and endless #Covid review meetings . This is one of the doctors who signed on the joint resignation letter …. pic.twitter.com/XUSQK5WJa5

— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) May 13, 2021

These so-called ‘reviews’, say the doctors take place arbitrarily, and the onus is put on the frontline healthcare worker “to prove we worked” to the bureaucrats in charge. These doctors are essentially working in rural hospitals that provide frontline healthcare to villages, and say they are working long days to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Uttar Pradesh, which has been badly hit by Covid-19, has reported over 18,023 new cases in the last 24 hours. The Union Health Ministry data stated that around. 326 Covid patients had died in the 24 hour period. According to reports, Uttar Pradesh is the fourth worst Covid-19-hit state.

However, the red tape and bureaucratic high-handedness that these 14 government doctors in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao, have alleged, are an example of how the pandemic is more than that of Coronavirus. According to an NDTV report, these doctors have resigned en-masse from their posts alleging that “they are being made the scapegoats for the rise in Covid infections in the district”. According to the doctor, the administration seems to blame them when medications are in short supply even though they have been raising invoices for procurements regularly.

The 14 doctors who quit are posted at Community Health Centres and Primary Health Care centres in Unnao, perhaps the only access to medical care for the villagers. According to NDTV, 11 of the 14 doctors who signed on a joint resignation letter, also visited the office of Unnao’s chief medical officer on Wednesday evening and handed it over to his deputy. The letter, cited by NDTV, states that “despite working hard in the pandemic, punitive action and bad behavior” is being hurled at the doctors. The report quotes  Dr Sharad Vaishya, one of the doctors who quit as saying, “Our teams are working round the clock, but it seems we are being marked out for ‘not working’. The DM, other officials, even the SDM and the tehsildar are all supervising us and holding review meetings. Our teams leave at noon, track and isolate Covid positive patients, get sampling done, distribute medicines and then, once we are back, we get calls from SDM asking to come for review meetings. Even if someone is posted 30 km away, he or she is bound to travel all the 30 km for these review meetings. We have to prove that we have worked. It seems it is being suggested that because we are not working, the Covid infection is spreading.” 

Meanwhile, the administration is now on the path to pour oil on troubled waters. District magistrate Ravindra Kumar told the media that the administration was “talking to the doctors. The Chief Minister’s Office has spoken to them, and we will find a solution to the problem. They are part of our team. They are not strangers. We will get over this.” 

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After the news of the sacking of two doctors of Aligarh Muslim University’s (AMU) Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, allegedly because they spoke to the media about the investigations into the hathras rape case, university officials may be in damage control mode. The official line adopted by the AMU authorities is that the two doctors were engaged “on a temporary one-month vacancy” and their removal was routine. However, if the doctors were appointed for a month since September 9, the authorities have not explained why they remained in the appointment way past October 9, when it should have automatically terminated.

According to a report in The Hindu, the sacked medic, Dr. Mohammad Azimuddin Malik said he and his colleague Dr. Obaid Imtiyazul Haque’s services as casualty medical officers were terminated by Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor on Tuesday October 20. According to the news report the termination letter signed by CMO-in-charge S.A.H. Zaidi said the V-C had “rejected” their appointment to the post of medical officer, emergency and trauma, with immediate effect.

According to NDTV the two who questioned FSL ‘no rape’ claim in the Hathras rape and murder case were removed from post in AMU medical college soon after a 

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team’s visit. However,the AMU authorities have denied the allegations as “highly speculative” and said the two doctors were engaged “on a temporary one-month vacancy from September 9”.

Dr Malik told the media that they “understand that ours is a temporary job against leave vacancy, which is renewed every month. My month ended on October 10. Since then I have been made to understand by seniors that I am supposed to continue. I have been signing on medico-legal cases. If I have been removed with immediate effect, who is going to appear in the cases of the last 10 days?” 

In the Hathras case, after the Uttar Pradesh administration, Police denied that the woman was raped, and quoted a forensic report stating there were no traces of sperm in the victim’s body. Dr Malik had countered that. According to a report in The Hindustan Times, he  had said that medical tests were conducted too late to conclude that the woman had not been raped. He also questioned the gap between the date of the crime, September 14, and the date the tests were conducted, September 22. The forensic science laboratory had received the samples on September 25. 

Dr. Malik is quoted by the news report saying that after his opinion on the forensic lab report in the rape-murder case was published, he was asked to give a written explanation. “I refused to give any statement but when a journalist asked my personal opinion, I told her that chances of getting an important finding is more if the sample is collected within four days of the incident than when it’s collected after 11 days,” he said in the letter. 

He alleged that he and Dr. Haque were being targeted because they spoke to the media. The Hindu reports quote him as stating that he had learnt that their in-charge was also called and reprimanded by the V-C and added that said the newspaper even wrongly mentioned his designation as “Chief Medical Officer”. “There is no such post in JNMCH. There are 11casualty medical officers and there is one in-charge,” said Dr. Malik, an ophthalmologist.

Meanwhile the AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai told the media that the V-C was reconsidering the decision, and if the CMO in-charge asked for an extension of their services, it would be taken up. Professor Kidwai called it “It is a routine affair. Their services are temporary so there is no question of termination or suspension.” He added that the doctors were appointed when the cases of Covid-19 were increasing, against leave vacancy, “Now that the pressure has eased and some of the regular doctors have resumed duties, their services might not be required. It has nothing to do with the Hathras probe”. 

While such ‘reconsiderations’ are usually afterthoughts, support for the two doctor is coming in from medics across the country

AMU VC terminated two doctors who allegedly expressed their views to media persons on samples of #Hathras rape victim. Once again drs are made scapegoats for gross mismanagement & incompetence of UP govt & police. We demand immediate revocation of their termination. pic.twitter.com/uooIY3O06t

— Harjit Singh Bhatti (@DrHarjitBhatti) October 21, 2020

Hamza Malik, president, Resident Doctors’ Association, demanded that the two doctors should be “reinstated within 24 hours” or else the RDA would take a “big decision”. “We have been assured over the phone that they will be reinstated, but we would not relent until we get it in writing,” he told the media and the RDA issued this statement:.

In a related development, stated news reports, the CBI team quizzed the JNMCH doctors who treated the rape-murder victim, on Monday. They also questioned the four accused in the Hathras case at Aligarh Jail.

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The post AMU doctor who challenged UP police’s ‘no rape’ theory sacked! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Gujarat Model doesn’t seem to be working during the coronavirus lockdown. Being the fourth highest infected state with 22,562 infections and 22,212 active cases, the reports coming in from Gujarat show that the healthcare system in the state is in shambles. The top three affected cities in the place are Ahmedabad with 15,962 cases, Surat with 2,444 cases and Vadodara with 1,471 cases. According to government figures, in the last one week, the number of new infections has grown by an average of 2 percent every day!

Now, as the lockdown norms have been eased, hospitals in the state will start seeing a surge in trauma and semi-emergency cases. However, the hospitals in Gujarat face multipronged issues – from shortage of blood to shortage of doctors and from protests to the crumbling infrastructure.

Shortage of blood

Ahmedabad Mirror reported that the blood collection in Gujarat has fallen almost 30,000 units from May last year when it was at 75,032 units to May this year at 41,997 units. The state is facing a crippling shortage of blood due to the fear of the coronavirus infection and hospitals are asking family members of patients to find the number of donors needed to either donate blood or replace the blood provided by the hospital so that others can be helped too. Currently, blood banks are only prioritizing the needs of pregnant women and those in trauma situations.

Stating that this situation was unprecedented in the history of the Red Cross Blood Bank, Dr. Vishwas Amin, Medical Director of the Ahmedabad Red Cross Society told Ahmedabad Mirror, “We have not had to seek blood from relatives of ailing patients ever since 2012 when we stopped this system and began relying solely on our benevolent donors and donation camps.” Explaining how they’ve had to hold back in giving blood units due to the scary situation, he said that while before the pandemic 200 units were given off the shelves, now less than 60 units are being disbursed, that too after keeping 25 units for children suffering from thalassemia, adding that the collection of negative blood groups had almost become non-existent.

Officials cited that even regular donors were not responding to requests of blood donations due to the fear of being infected and regular donation camps couldn’t be arranged due to the lockdown. However, the authorities say they will be able to hold small camps in societies and offices if people show interest to donate.

At Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Dr. Nidhi Bhatnagar, Chairperson of the Gujarat Chapter of the Indian Society o Blood Transfusion and Immune Hematology (ISBTI) said that though blood collection had gone down, they had managed to stay afloat in terms of demand due to the replacements coming in from the patients’ relatives, Ahmedabad Mirror reported.

In Vadodara, however, the situation is bleak with the SSG Civil Hospital completely running out on blood reserves and only relying on replacements by the family members of the patients. The reason for the shortage is the same – the fear of catching the infection. Though Shalini Agarwal, Vadodara Collector told Ahmedabad Mirror that after the lifting of the lockdown permission to hold small donation camps was given.

Surat too has seen a 50 percent drop in blood donation, said Dr. Sumit Bhargava, director of Surat Raktdan Kendra and Research Centre to Mirror. Stating worry, he said that while during normal times, they used to collect 3,000 units per month, the collection during the months of the lockdown from end of March to May 31 had cumulatively only been 2,800 units.

Protests by doctors

75 nurses from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation run SVP Hospital which is one of the major Covid-19 hospitals in the state, protested on June 8, 2020, after they received mails from UDF, their employer agency, informing them about a cut in salary and delays in disbursement of the same, Ahmedabad Mirror reported.

Around 350 nurses received the mail on June 2 which stated that with effect from June, those being given a monthly salary of Rs. 30,000 would be given Rs. 22,000 and those receiving Rs. 20,000 will get Rs. 14,000 and that the same would be handed over by the 20th of the month, as opposed to the first week like earlier. UDF Project Head told Mirror that the pay cuts were due to them not being able to afford expenses.

The protests only ended when AMC and SVP officials assured them that their salaries wouldn’t be reduced and presented a notice to UDF and took control of its staff management. Ahmedabad Mirror reported a nurse saying that UDF took the decision of pay cuts saying that it provided PPE kits to the nurses. However, it was found that PPE kits and masks are provided by the AMC and the AMC also bears the cost of the nurses’ quarantine and provides buses for their travel. The AMC also issued a notification stating that the nurses would be considered for direct employment by the AMC.

However, the nurses went back on strike on June 11, stating that the decision of revoking the pay cut had not been sent to them in writing. SVP CEO Ramya Kumar Bhatt told The Indian Express that the protests were motivated, allegedly by five staffers from Rajasthan who were creating trouble. He added that the decision of the pay cut was communicated by the contractual agency, UDF and the decision of the rollback was also communicated by them through e-mail. Bhatt added that the communication of the pay cuts not taking place and an additional 20 percent hike was already done on June 8, the first day of the protest, when it was presented on the hospital’s letterhead.

In light of this, the AMC issued a press note naming the five staffers of “provoking other employees to disrupt functioning” and stated that a police complaint would be filed against them under the IPC and Epidemic Diseases Act, IE reported.

Shortages of doctors

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report from the period of 2010 – 2015 about the healthcare system in Gujarat had said that the government run healthcare system in Gujarat has deteriorated to an alarming extent with up to 77% specialist doctors and 69% general doctors not in position, shortage of nurses up to 72%, and paramedical staff up to 41%, shortage of beds in hospitals up to 73%, funds for buying medicines lying unutilised, essential drugs in short supply, patients being given medicines that are already declared Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) and accident and emergency services either not available or partially available. Over a 100 doctors have tested positive for the virus in the last two months cite various media reports.

Now during the lockdown, the situation had exacerbated, with most critical care specialists and anaesthesiologists, catering to Covid-19 patients, leaving a gap in the space of doctors needed when non-Covid patients could start trickling in, reported Ahmedabad Mirror. A senior doctor of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital told Mirror that almost 50 percent, most of the 36 anaesthesiologists were stationed in the ICU, with 30 percent helping out with non-Covid surgeries.

The situation in GMERS Sola Ahmedabad and the Covid ICU at the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre, is the same too, with over 75 percent and 80 percent of the anesthesia specialists and intensivists being on Covid-19 duty.

Apart from this, at any given time, 20 percent of the doctors are in isolation with them being home for a week after 10 days of duty. This period has been reduced from 14 days, yet hospitals are feeling the strain even after having full strength of doctors. A doctor at GMERS Sola told Mirror, “If any healthcare worker in isolation post Covid-19 duty does not show symptoms, they are back on non-Covid duty even after five days due to workload.”

To battle this shortage, hospitals are now planning to invite consultants and prioritize surgeries, reported Mirror. They are also looking to employ doctors – critical care specialists, anesthetists, pulmonologists and infectious disease specialists on a contractual basis. The appalling shortage of doctors can be understood from an advertisement by the Gujarat health commissioner who sought 686 Class I and Class II doctors for civil hospitals in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Vadodara and Surat.

Ahmedabad Civil Hospital can’t shake away controversies 

Late last month, after a young whistle blower had brought forth the ugly plight of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to the fore stating that doctors were not given PPEs and were criticized of undergoing Covid-19 tests, the Gujarat High Court also lambasted the Gujarat administration over its mismanagement of the burgeoning health crisis in the state amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Calling the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital a “dungeon”, the HC in its order on May 22 had stated, “We are very sorry to state that the Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, as on date, appears to be in an extremely bad shape. Ordinarily, the citizens hailing from a poor strata of society are being treated at the Civil Hospital. This does not mean that human life is not to be protected. Human life is extremely precious and it should not be allowed to be lost at a place like the Civil Hospital at Ahmedabad,” asking whether the state government was aware that patients at the Civil Hospital were dying due to lack of adequate number of ventilators.

Gujarat has been mired in controversy during the lockdown after reports of theft emerged from various hospitals. News of personal belongings like cash, watches and mobile phones being stolen from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital made the news recently. The hospital also came under fire for mismanagement and apathy after it failed to inform relatives of deaths of their family members.

The state was also embroiled in a fake ventilator controversy when the so-called ventilator machines, called Dhaman-1 developed by a company called Jyoti CNC were tested only on one patient before 900 were installed in government hospitals across the state! The machines hadn’t even received a license from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI).

In mid-May, Sabrang India reported how as many as 25 out of 30 private hospitals refused to become Covid centers on grounds that the capping of the cost of treatment was way lower than the actual cost of treatment. The Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA) estimated that on an average, a private hospital incurs between Rs 20,000-22,000 for the general ward per day, while for ICU the running cost is between Rs 30,000-40,000 per patient per day. However, it cited that the Government Resolution, hospitals would be reimbursed by the state government – Rs. 200 per patient for OPD and Rs. 200 for X-rays, blood test and other tests. Expenses like staff salary, electricity bill etc. are not to be paid to the designated hospitals.

The Gujarat government has increasingly tried to downplay the faults in its healthcare system. The Indian Express reported that in the application moved before the court on May 25, which was incidentally a holiday on account of Eid, the Gujarat government has allegedly said that Ahmedabad’s Covid-19 situation was at least better than Italy or France. The government application reportedly said, “…the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases has been substantially slow in the state as compared to the said countries.” It added, “Similarly, the number of deaths has been substantially less in Gujarat as compared to Italy and France.” However, these comparisons were only made based on population. Sabrang India debunked this claim by studying the statistics that actually mattered – the number of people tested.

When more people are tested, more incidences of the disease can be diagnosed and treated. Often people who are asymptomatic could carry the virus and while they may not succumb to it, they can easily pass the disease to others who may be more vulnerable on account of reduced immunity, age or comorbidity factors.

Therefore, comparing Gujarat or Ahmedabad to Italy and France is not only an example of comparing apples to oranges, but also suggests that the administration is more interested in image management than actually improving healthcare infrastructure.

Related:

Is it enough to be ‘not as bad as Italy or France’?
Ahmedabad Civil Hospital “as good as a dungeon”: Guj HC slams state gov’t
Fake machines, theft and apathy mar Gujarat’s Covid-19 fight
Healthcare crisis brewing in Ahmedabad

The post Shortages of doctors, blood as healthcare crisis grows in Gujarat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

One of the worst cases of horrific treatment of medical professionals, at the forefront of combating the rising cases of Covid-19 in Delhi have been exposed by the resident doctors of Kasturba Hospital. resident doctors allege that they have not been paid salaries for the past three months, and will now submit mass resignations unless their dues are cleared.

The hospital is under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation, and the issue has been long pending. The doctors alleged that they have not received salaries since March, even as they worked long hours during the national lockdown. Their workload is only increasing as the lockdown winds up and cases of Coronavirus rise in the city.

Kasturba Hospital, started in 1905, is now one of the largest of its kind in the country, it claims it is one of the largest in Asia. It is also one of the most strategically located in the walled city area, close to Delhi’s Jama Masjid and has been the go-to for women and children seeking medical care. It is still locally known as the ‘Victoria Zenana Hospital’ even though it was renamed Kasturba Hospital in 1975. Once it was also known as the Machliwa Hospital, as the road had led to the wholesale fish market, which was moved out many years ago. Since then the hospital has grown to be well known for its maternity services and according to its website it has 350 beds exclusively for Gynae and Obstt and a delivery rate of 12000 per year.

This is also an example of the massive workload that is handled by the doctors here. Today, the doctors allege they are yet to be paid their due and that merely calling them ‘corona warriors’ does not help. According to news agency ANI, Dr Sunil Kumar, president of Resident Doctors’ Association of Kasturba Hospital has alleged that:

“All resident doctors of the hospital have not received their salaries for the last three months (March, April and May). As this is not the right time to go on a strike, we have decided to tender mass resignations. We have not stopped giving our services. If the hospital is not able to give us salaries, then we would like to give our services in other hospitals.”

No salary from last 3 months for Kasturba Hospitals Doctors This is how you treat your frontline warriors? pic.twitter.com/ZUiamwrCS9

— Dr Mukesh Verma (@drmukeshv) June 10, 2020

“People are hailing us as ‘corona warriors’, clapping for us. It is a good thing that people respect us. But I want to ask, is this way to respect us? We want our salaries. I want people to know that in Delhi doctors are not getting salaries,” he added. It is also reported that many of the hospital’s doctors and staff have tested positive for COVID-19. Reports of basic needs medical staff being neglected have been coming in a steady flow from across the city for months now. Medics have written letters to authorities at all levels, and even protested lacks of facilities, long working hours, quality of PPEs, and now non payment of salaries, at various hospitals, including at the Centre-run All India Institute of Medical sciences, the Delhi-govt run LNJP hospital, municipal hospital Hindu Rao, and now Kasturba hospital.

The doctors here have given a deadline of June 16 and have written to the authorities, If their dues are not cleared by then, they will resign en masse. “We can not work without money. Being the frontline workers, we should be paid our pending salaries as soon as possible and should be ensured a regular salary payout. We are afraid that if we aren’t paid by 16 June, we will have to move for mass resignation,” the letter states.
 

An official response to the doctors’ complain is awaited.

The post Working without payment since lockdown, resident doctors threaten to resign en masse appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The 2nd cargo Boeing 747 with 90t of medical protective equipment landed from India to Belgrade today. The transportation of valuable supplies purchased by @SerbianGov has been fully funded by the #EU while @UNDPSerbia organized the flight & ensured the fastest possible delivery. pic.twitter.com/pMZqV7dwTg

— UNDP in Serbia (@UNDPSerbia) March 29, 2020

Adding insult to injury, come news reports stating that the union health ministry has denied any knowledge of the sale to Serbia. According to a report by NDTV, it will take almost six months for the demand of PPE requirements in India to be met even if manufacturing is done on war footing.

Desperate in the face of the  shortage of PPEs  Many Indian doctors, nurses and technicians have been wearing raincoats, sun glasses, non medical grade visors, even cloth masks and DIY shoe covers to protect themselves in any way they can.

They have begun recording video messages hoping that the government takes note and addresses this crisis before the Coronavirus starts infecting frontline workers. For example, this protest by medical staff at Patiala hospital as reported by the Tribute:

According to an NDTV investigation, the over 100 tonnes of material sent to Serbia in multiple consignments included 50 tons of surgical gloves, apart from masks and coveralls. The report cites the spokesperson of Kochi airport confirming that yet another consignment that included 35 lakh pairs of sterile surgical gloves was sent to Belgrade on March 29. India is sending the crucial material to help fight the ‘global war against COVID2019′ ‘ when doctors closer home are facing one challenge after another.

The first case of COVID-19 was reported in India on January 30, 2020. “The very next day, i.e. on January 31, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a notification banning the export of all sorts of PPE like surgical masks, gloves, ventilators,” reports The Wire adding that this decision was amended a few days later. “The commerce ministry issued an order on February 8, 2020 allowing the export of all types of gloves except NBR gloves as well as surgical masks.” More items are added to this list till, “March 19 and March 24 that the government took decisions to ban PPE items, raw materials required to make them and other related goods.”

Add to that the fact that India did not have enough PPEs stocks to begin with. “India did not stockpile COVID protective equipment for health workers despite clear WHO guidelines,” The Caravan had reported.

Everyday, news reports of discrimination against doctors by landlords, lack of support from superiors and even violence against doctors come in from across the country that needs their help to fight the Coronavirus pandemic. “Health Officials Attacked By Locals In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, 2 Doctors Injured. A complaint has been filed at Chhatripura police station. A police officer said that during the incident the protesters also broke the barricade,” reports Outlook.

A report from The NewsMinute shows how the family of a man who succumbed to COVID-19 attacked doctors at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital hospital. “Three relatives of the man who died were also being treated for COVID-19 in the same ward,” said the report.

The president of Telangana jJnior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) – Dr. KUN Vishnu wrote to the authorities demanding that a case be filed against the attackers. He also sought CRPF deployment to ensure doctors are able to work safely. And he asked that all healthcare providers be given enough PPEs.

Those who want to quit their jobs, and save their lives and that of their families are being threatened too, said a doctor.   

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Even though restrictions imposed in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 have been relaxed, the streets of continue to be occupied by the government forces who have established barricades and checkpoints after every 300 to 500 metres. These checkpoints are not only affecting normal people but are pushing patients to the wall.

Being confined to their homes for the past 14 days in the valley, many patients and doctors aren’t able to reach the clinics and hospitals. As a result, several doctors have started attending to the patients at their home.

One such case is of Dr Sajad (name changed). He is the only doctor within a radius 4 kms, and has been receiving patients at his home. Initially, the flow of patients was low, but as the news has spread, people have been turning up in large numbers.

Sajad believes that people should not be restricted from reaching the hospitals in case of a medical emergency. Right now, because of the curfew, people have no means of reaching the hospitals even in case of an emergency.

On the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha on August 12, which most people of Kashmir celebrated under an extreme lockdown, Dr. Sajad received many cases of food poisoning at his home. There were many whose condition were so bad that he had to install a drip and have them stay at his own home to monitor them.

“I came across many people who didn’t have money, so I decided to do their treatment without any charges. They are my own people. I have kept the doors open for the people so that they know that they can knock at my door in the middle of the night,” he said.

The day when people across the world were celebrating Eid, Sajad received a few pellet victims, some of them had pellets in their eyelids and on their back, fired at by the government forces. “There were kids as young as 9 years old. I tried my best to help them out. I would treat that sort of emergency,” Sajad said.

Most pellet victims who receive minor injuries try to avoid going to the hospital and instead get them treated or removed locally which he believes is not a very good idea. “People go to local sources because the government is on the lookout for these people in the hospitals and if found, they could be detained. Due to this fear of detention, they avoid going to the hospitals,” he says.

Previously in 2016, there have been cases where pellets victims were stopped by the government forces on their way to the hospitals and were beaten up and detained.

Dr. Sajad says that it is dangerous to remove pellets at local medical shops that aren’t well equipped to do the job, it can lead to serious infections.

“There are many people who lost their eye sight by refusing to go to the hospitals due to the fear of detention. Their eye sight could have been saved if they would have received treatment on time,” he said. But there are no other options left for these people.

Apart from pellet victims, other patients have started showing up at Sajad’s home too. Due to the intensified restrictions on August 15, more and more people approached him as all the main entrances were blocked by the government forces.

One of the patients had Herpes Zoster. Herpes zoster is a viral infection that occurs with reactivation of varicella-zoster virus. It is usually a painful but self-limited dermatomal rash, which requires treatment by antiviral medications within 72 hours of symptom onset.

“It is a very painful condition. The atient’s companions were crying as they were helpless and were unable to get any medical assistance,” recalls Sajad.

Despite having a staff of six people at a government Primary Health Centre, where Sajad is posted, only he and one of his male colleagues have able to reach there since August 5.

After working at the health centre for almost 8 hours, Sajad remains on duty even after coming home. On an average, he attends to about 75 patients at his home everyday and provides free treatment to them.

While talking about the situation of the hospital, he said, “Right now our hospitals aren’t fully prepared to face any sort of emergencies, there is no proper backup of medicines and other important supplies.”

“We try our best to help people including acute cases or people with different sorts of injuries. But when things are more complicated, we refer them to the main hospital. But now, even in the referral case , they face a lot of problems because ambulances are also being stopped,” he said.

First published in Newsclick.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Indian Writers’ Forum.
 

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