Doctors hold nationwide strike against NMC bill, withdraw emergency services

New Delhi, Aug 01: Doctors and students across the country are holding a 'token' strike resulting in disruption of healthcare services at government hospitals, including AIIMS.

The one-day strike is in protest of the Lok Sabha approving and passing the National Medical Commission Bill (NMC) 2019. Resident doctors will refrain from working in OPDs, emergency departments and ICUs as a mark of protest.

Claiming the bill to be 'anti-poor, anti-student and undemocratic', Dr Sumedh Sandanshiv, the president of Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) threatened, "Resident doctors will refrain from working in OPDs, emergency departments and ICUs as a mark of protest on Thursday and the strike will continue for an indefinite period if the bill is tabled and passed in the Rajya Sabha."

The bill, which seeks to replace the graft-tainted Medical Council of India (MCI) with a National Medical Commission, is slated to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Notably, Lok Sabha approved the bill on July 29.

Amid widespread protests by the medical fraternity, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in a tweet on Wednesday night said he would table the NMC bill for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha today.