Junior doctors stage a silent protest at the GMCH on Wednesday.
GUWAHATI: Doctors on Wednesday boycotted OPD services, as healthcare in the testing time of Covid suffered a major jolt with widespread protests against the assault of a doctor in Hojai. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Assam chapter has further threatened to boycott Covid duty from Thursday if the state government fails to deploy armed police in Covid care facilities and assure fast-track trial of the culprits in three months.
At the call of the Assam Medical Service Association (Amsa), another leading association of doctors, and supported by IMA, the OPD boycott protests started from Wednesday morning. We are going to withdraw OPD services from Wednesday so that people realise the importance of doctors. Next time, if any such incident of assault on any health worker takes place, we will immediately cease all services, Amsa said in a statement.
Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati was brutally beaten up by a group of people following the death of a Covid patient at the Odali Model Hospital in Hojai district of Central Assam.
A video of the attack which went viral on social media showed that a person, apparently looking like the doctor, was being assaulted by a group of people, including women. All political parties have condemned the incident and asked the government to take strict action against the culprits.