Doctors continue to hold protest, all non-essential services crippled

New Delhi, June 17: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Sunday said it will go ahead with its strike on June 17 with withdrawal of non-essential health services across the country in the wake of the recent assault on doctors in West Bengal.

The announcement came a day after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asked states to consider enacting specific legislation for protecting doctors and medical professionals from any form of violence.

Meanwhile, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has also decided to participate in the strike after a doctor at Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre was assaulted in the early hours of Monday.

"AIIMS has always been on the forefront in the fight against violence on doctors and in expressing its solidarity on all such untoward instances either in the institute or elsewhere across the country," read a press release by the Resident Doctor's Association of AIIMS.

The IMA said all non-essential services, including outdoor patient department (OPD) services, will be withdrawn for 24 hours from 6 am on Monday to 6 am Tuesday.

Emergency and casualty services will continue to function, it said.

The medical body had launched a four-day nationwide protest from June 14 and wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding enactment of a central law to check violence against healthcare workers.

It had also called for a countrywide strike on June 17 with withdrawal of non-essential health services.

(With PTI inputs)