Jipmer Resident Doctors here resorted to an eight-hour strike on 1st August to condemn the setting up of National Medical Commission (NMC) by scrapping the Medical Council of India (MCI) by the Centre.

According to General Secretary of the Resident Doctors Association Dr Mukesh R, the strike was in tune with the call given by the Federation Of Resident Doctors Associations (FORDA), India, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other medical Associations to protest against the move by the central Government. However, it is ensured that the patients are not affected and no emergency services was stopped due to the strike.

The Jipmer Resident Doctors Association in a release said that it felt that there is a gross ignorance of existing challenges of the health care sector and in fact, the NMC will accentuate the problems associated with the privatization of medical education, treading in track of complications and disconnected with meeting the basic health needs of the people. The provision of representation of elected members in the commission is highly in a negligible manner and the fact that health is a state subject is trivial.

Further, the term ‘community health care providers’ is a question of credibility, accuracy and reliability which interferes with standard of health care delivery without any foundation to withstand the course of care both at the terminal and sub terminal levels. The option of community health care providers is technically weak and frantically designed, which is obsolete and in long run, the release noted.