Demand for immediate filing of charges and strict action against those involved in vandalism at hospitals and attacks on doctors, in accordance with the Criminal Code, 2017 and the Health Worker and Health Institution Security Act, 2022.
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Doctors at government and private hospitals in Birgunj have launched an indefinite strike from Sunday in protest against the vandalism and assault on doctors following the death of a patient during treatment at Narayani Hospital, Birgunj. Due to the protest, emergency services at Narayani Hospital, as well as at government, community, private hospitals, and medical colleges, have also been affected.
On Saturday, after 45-year-old Rajkumar Patel of Birgunj Metropolitan City–25 died during treatment in the hospital's emergency ward, his relatives and villagers, enraged, vandalized the emergency ward and brutally assaulted Dr. Pramod Ram, who was involved in the treatment. Dr. Ram, who was seriously injured, is currently undergoing treatment in the hospital's ICU.
Following the incident, on Saturday evening, the hospital administration, the victim's side, and the police administration held a meeting and formed a six-member committee to investigate the incident. Additionally, it was decided to suspend Dr. Pramod Ram, Dr. Ramkishor Singh, and health workers Prahlad Prasad, Nareshkumar Chaudhary, and Astha Yadav, who were working in the emergency ward, for one week.
Expressing dissatisfaction with this decision, all doctors at government and private hospitals in Birgunj have gone on strike from Sunday at the call of the Nepal Medical Association, Narayani Branch. A meeting chaired by the association's president, Dr. Manoj Kumar Gupta, decided to boycott all treatment services, including emergency services, until their demands are met.
The association has demanded that those involved in the vandalism at the hospital and the attack on doctors be immediately charged and strictly punished in accordance with the Criminal Code, 2074, and the Health Worker and Health Institution Security Act, 2079 (with amendments).
Similarly, the association has also demanded the immediate reinstatement of all five suspended doctors and health workers, the dissolution of the investigation committee, and an end to unauthorized interference, unnecessary pressure, and public defamation of doctors and health institutions.
The association has further demanded that effective security arrangements be ensured so that doctors and health workers can fulfill their professional duties in a safe environment, free from fear, threats, or pressure. The association has stated that the protest will continue until their demands are addressed.
