Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta says govt to bring medical protection bill soon

Jamshedpur: Amid junior doctors' stir demanding security at workplaces, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta said the state government will soon bring a medical protection bill to the assembly.

The Jharkhand government is concerned and sensible about the safety of doctors and healthcare workers, he said.

Doctors across the country, including those in Jharkhand, have also been protesting against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic in Kolkata.

After the Supreme Court's appeal, junior doctors at the state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi resumed work on Friday as they withdrew their 'pen down' agitation over the killing of the postgraduate trainee doctor.

"A medical protection bill will be brought soon in the state to ensure that a stringent law is enacted for the protection of medical professionals," Gupta said.

"I have come to know that the agitating doctors have called off their strike and decided to resume work. I, on behalf of the Jharkhand government, assure you that the government will initiate all possible steps for the safety and respect of medical professionals," he said.

No amount of condemnation for the incident is enough, the minister said in a tweet on Thursday night without naming R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was allegedly raped and murdered.

Gupta said he was in contact with the representatives of the Indian Medical Association and other medico organisations and had a meeting with them.