By IANS,
Chennai : Over 20,000 doctors with private practices or working in private hospitals across Tamil Nadu, barring the major corporate hospital chains, struck work Thursday to protest against the Jan 2 killing of a woman doctor in Tuticorin by an enraged relative.
The strike, called by the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Tamil Nadu chapter, crippled medical services in several private hospitals.
“We want the government to declare all hospitals as protected areas which in turn would make the beat police drop in during their rounds. If doctors get killed while attending to emergency cases, then nobody would attend to such cases,” IMA’s state secretary J.A. Jayalal told IANS.
“If there is an issue of negligence, then it will be known in an enquiry and it is not the time to talk about that. Murdering a doctor is not acceptable,” he added.
He also said that Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa should issue a statement in this regard assuring the doctors of safety.
Around 26,000 doctors are on strike Thursday, he said adding that doctors in various districts took out processions as a part of the strike.
On Wednesday, government doctors went on strike for the same reason.
“I am not opening my clinic today (Thursday) as a mark of solidarity. However, I will be seeing my patients admitted in hospital without my usual gear. But emergency cases will be attended to,” a child specialist told IANS on the condition of anonymity.
However, the functioning of big corporate hospitals was not affected by the strike.
An official of Apollo Speciality Hospital here told IANS that their doctors are working as usual.
Autorickshaw driver Mahesh killed doctor T. Sethulakshmi Monday night as he considered her responsible for the death of his pregnant wife, Nithya.
According to police, Mahesh had brought his wife to her clinic Dec 30.
As the six-month foetus was dead in the womb, the doctor advised an emergency operation. During the course of the operation, Nithya’s condition turned critical and the doctor took her in an ambulance to a private hospital that had all facilities.
Unfortunately, Nithya died en route. Mahesh, however, blamed the doctor for his wife’s death and killed her.
Mahesh and his associates have been arrested.