Kerala - Kottayam   

Doctors' stir continues

Staff Reporter

Protesters open parallel outpatient counters

KOTTAYAM: The doctors' strike at the Government Medical College Hospital here entered the third day on Friday, with the protesters setting up parallel service counters at the outpatient department. Teams under senior doctors attended patients at the nine counters.

The doctors have been striking in protest against what they describe as unjust treatment meted out to their colleague, P. Asokan, by the authorities following the death of an accident victim.

Hospital authorities said the number of patients who came on Friday was only 60 per cent of the normal turnout. While doctors said all emergency services functioned as usual, some surgeries were postponed.

The protesters have come down to just one demand now: strict action against the police officer who gave scant regard for the Supreme Court directive on cases of similar nature, so that they would not be victimised in future.

Collective decision

District Collector Raju Narayana Swamy, in an informal chat with presspersons, said the doctor was taken into custody following a "collective decision" taken by two senior administrators: the Executive Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police, who were present on the spot.

"It was an administrator's decision in response to the pain and helplessness of a poor father, he had witnessed first hand," Mr. Swamy said. Nothing else had influenced him while taking the decision. "It was not against the doctor community, but against one person." He was convinced that his action would be justified. First-hand information from other people and relatives on the series of events during the 24 hours leading to the decision was corroborated by hard evidence by way of the case sheet, obtained only after 10.30 p.m. Then, it was decided to take the doctor into custody. Evidences got after that had vindicated the stand. He refuted the contention that his action amounted to administrative activism. "It was part of the fight for public good," he said.

Two issues were involved in the case: negligence and breach of provisions of the vigilance Act. The arrest was made under the Act, while the issue of negligence was being discussed at a different level, he said.

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