Following the stabbing of a doctor in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA) have announced an indefinite strike in protest against the brutal attack on the medical oncologist by a patient's son.
Along with TNGDA, the Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors Association has also joined the strike and called on the state government for "immediate and decisive legal action under HPA and relevant criminal provisions to hold those responsible accountable.”
On Wednesday, an oncologist working at the Kalaignar Centenary Multispeciality Hospital was stabbed multiple times by a 26-year-old man, who was the son of a patient.
The doctor, who is now in stable condition, was stabbed at least seven times across the head, neck and scalp.
Condemning the attack, Dr K Senthil, President of the TNGDA announced an indefinite strike and stated that doctors won't attend any "non-patient activities". Only emergency services and "very critical surgeries" will be attended to, Dr Senthil added.
"Why should we work when we don’t have security? We have been raising this issue with the government for the past several years but nothing has been done to beef up security within government hospitals,” the TNGDA added further.
Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin also visited the injured doctor but was gheraoed by doctors at the hospital who demanded urgent work towards guaranteeing the safety of healthcare workers.
The state government have vowed action against the culprit and stated that they will work towards ensuring the safety of doctors and medical workers.
In response to the strike, Health Minister Ma Subramanian has announced that the government will conduct talks with doctors with the association to bring an end to the strike.
The doctor's protest in Tamil Nadu comes amid outrage across the healthcare community after the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital, which triggered a debate on the safety of healthcare workers in India.
