Agitating doctors write to President Murmu, PM Modi over RG Kar impasse
Kolkata (PTI): Agitating junior doctors in West Bengal have written to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting their intervention in the RG Kar hospital impasse.
Copies of the four-page letter written by the West Bengal Junior Doctors' Front were also sent to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
A post-graduate trainee was raped and murdered in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Junior doctors have been on a 'cease work' since then.
"We humbly place the issues before your esteemed excellency, as the head of state, so that our unfortunate colleague who has been the victim of the most despicable crime shall receive justice, and so that we, the healthcare professionals under the West Bengal Health department, may be able to discharge our duties to the public without fear and apprehension.
"Your intervention in these trying times will act as a beacon of light to us all, showing us the way ahead out of the darkness that surrounds us," they wrote.
One of the agitating doctors, Aniket Mahato, told PTI that the letter was drafted earlier this month and sent on Thursday night.
“In the light of these extremely unfortunate events, the head of the institute in question, along with the state police and certain state government officials had allegedly mishandled the entire forensic and legal proceedings with little regard for either the sanctity of the crime scene that was mobbed by several people of infamous repute within the West Bengal medical fraternity, or for the victim's parents…” the letter said.
In view of these circumstances, the sense of “deep mistrust and fear that we feel towards the authorities remain unallayed so far, and we desperately implore that these noxious elements within the health system be weeded out to assure us of a truly safe workplace”, it said.
“In this turbid atmosphere of fear, distrust and hopelessness”, the junior doctors in West Bengal have been “forced” to avoid working within the hospital premises and instead, have taken alternative modes to discharge the duty of providing health care services to citizenss, it added.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
