Agartala Government Medical College services had been thrown in disarray since Friday following a clash between irate mob and doctors after the death of a patient.
The family of the patient accused the hospital authorities of negligence leading to a scuffle. On Saturday morning, junior doctors ceased work to start a protest demanding safety and better working conditions. They staged a protest in front of the principal of the college and superintendent of the hospital alleging that the authority was not serious about their demands.
Family members of the deceased person claimed that though the patient had been admitted in a critical condition, no senior doctors were available. A junior doctor present could not treat him properly and the patient died within a couple of hours.
Nirmal Shil, the son of the deceased patient said, “The doctor was not even able to confirm my father’s death. He virtually died in front of us without treatment. Out of anger, some of our relatives abused the doctor and accused him of not treating my father properly. But immediately, the doctor and nurses called the private security guards who manhandled us in front of everyone.”
“Most of the time, we have to handle critical patients because the senior doctors and specialists are only on duty from 10-4. Even when they are called at late hours, hardly any senior doctors attend to patients. The interns and post-graduate students of the college are running the hospital and facing these odd situations,” a doctor from the agitating faction claimed. He also alleged that the state government did not provide basic minimum facilities and remuneration for the junior doctors and the post-graduate students, reported TOI.
The State Government has ordered an enquiry into the incident.