BENGALURU: Members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Karnataka chapter, which had called for a 24-hour shutdown of all outpatient department (OPD) services, called off the protest on Friday afternoon after the activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), who were involved in the alleged attack on junior doctors at Minto Hospital, surrendered before the police.
Though it was said that all OPD services would be shut, most hospitals attended to cases without creating inconvenience to patients. Various private hospitals expressed their solidarity by shutting down OPD services, while doctors in other hospitals wore black badges during their duty hours.
Dr C.R. Jayanthi, dean of the BMCRI – under which the Minto Hospital functions, called off the strike after a meeting with higher authorities.
The student unions agreed when the authorities told them that security at hospitals will be stepped up to protect the doctors by increasing the number of security guards at hotspots and by installing CCTV cameras at all government hospitals.
Dr Annadani Meti, president of the IMA Karnataka chapter, said, “The strike is a win for us. We expect that such things shall not be repeated and appropriate security is provided for doctors.”
