Kolkata: Junior doctor Aniket Mahato was discharged on Thursday, six days after being hospitalised after his health worsened from a hunger strike demanding justice for the murdered medic of RG Kar hospital on August 9. After being released, Mahato demanded that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee take immediate action to ensure the safety of doctors on campus and in hospitals.
"The state administration and the CM should immediately intervene by accepting our 10-point demand. Looking at the CBI charge sheet, we feel that the case has not moved any further. Nobody knows what happened inside the seminar room, or what the motive was. I will follow the advice of the Medical Board and decide on the next course of action.”
Doctors have prescribed Mahato seven days of complete rest, with his health to be reviewed after that period, a senior doctor of the hospital said. They have also advised him to refrain from fasting. "His condition has improved, but he requires at least seven days of complete rest at home. Restarting fasting could be risky," the doctor said.
Meanwhile, another junior doctor Anustup Mukherjee is still hospitalised. He has been provided with normal food since Thursday. Doctors said that he would be transferred from the CCU to a general bed if he was able to consume a light meal. "He will not have to undergo any new tests. His physical condition has improved since earlier," doctors said.
Thursday marked the 13th day of the fast-unto-death initiated by junior medics. So far, six fasting doctors have been hospitalised due to severe health complications. Currently, eight junior doctors remain on indefinite fast at the protest site in central Kolkata.
The protesting doctors are demanding the immediate removal of State Health Secretary NS Nigam, the establishment of a centralised referral system for all hospitals and medical colleges in the state, the implementation of a bed vacancy monitoring system, and the formation of task forces to ensure essential provisions like CCTV, on-call rooms, and washrooms at their workplaces.
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