india

Updated: Jun 17, 2019 13:44 IST

The West Bengal government has asked striking doctors to meet chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat at 3 pm on Monday, news agency ANI reported. The protests began last week after three junior doctors were beaten up by family members of a patient in a state-run hospital.

The latest development comes after a stalemate over the venue of talks and whether it could be opened to media. The doctors were also insisting that representatives of all the 14 medical colleges in the state be included in the talks with the CM.

The doctors are expected to seek better infrastructure at state-run hospitals, better security and the arrest of the attackers at NRS Hospital during the meeting.

West Bengal doctors have the support of the Indian Medical Association which has organized nation-wide protests today.

Thousands of doctors skipped work on Monday against unsafe conditions at work.

IMA has also asked the Union home minister Amit Shah to enact a central law to check violence against healthcare workers. Security measures and the determinants leading to violence should also be addressed, it said in a statement.

Health care services continue to remain affected in the emergency wards, outdoor facilities and pathological units of many state-run hospitals and private medical facilities in West Bengal on Monday, the seventh day of the strike in the eastern state.