Doctors in TN wear black badges in protests

Doctors in Tamil Nadu resorted to ‘Gandhigiri’ by wearing black badges and helmets seeking a central law to ensure protection and safety for them.

They ensured patient services were not affected.

Sources in the Health Department said out-patient and in-patient services in government hospitals weren’t affected as doctors continued with their duty, even as they stood behind their colleagues across the country by wearing black badges. However, services in some private hospitals were affected with doctors there participating in the protests and keeping away from regular work.

Doctors, including postgraduate students, formed human chains in front of state-run medical college and hospitals and wore black badges even as they held placards seeking protection. Similar protests were also held in government hospitals in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

IMA’s Tamil Nadu chapter president S Kanasabhapathy said only emergency services were available today and outpatient services were suspended in 6,500 hospitals and clinics in the private sector in the state.

In Puducherry, doctors at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) and the territorial government did not attend to work leading to the suspension of OPD services.