Kolkata hospital horror: Fissures in medical community over CM Mamata Banerjee meet cancellation

KOLKATA: The last-minute cancellation of the junior doctors' meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday evening exposed fissures in the city's medical community for the first time since they closed ranks to fight for justice over a month ago. Within minutes of the doctors backing out of the meeting after the govt refused to livestream it, several doctors took to social media to air their grievance against the move, with some calling it a wrong step. Others, however, felt that the govt could have allowed the livestreaming for the sake of breaking the stalemate.

"A breakthrough has to be made for the sake of patients and everyone in Bengal. We were very close to it but it fell through. An agitation can't go on forever and we need to sit across the table and thrash things out. It has dragged on for long enough and now we need to head towards solutions, for that's what the agitation is aimed at. Not disruptions," said IPGMER professor Diptendra Sarkar.

While doctors' demands need to be addressed, the latter, too, should realize that someone has to take a step forward to break the ice, said Subhhrojyoti Bhowmick, clinical director at Peerless Hospital. "Being a part of the medical fraternity, I sympathize with the doctors and share their grievances. We have been on the streets for more than a month and have agitated for a set of justified demands. But we, too, need to be flexible. Both the govt and the doctors should realize that whoever makes the first move towards a settlement will turn a hero. Blinking does not necessarily mean conceding defeat. After all, the discussions are the beginning of a process towards cleansing the health system," Bhowmick said.

"Wrong decision. It was taken in haste and was an impulsive move that will not lead us anywhere," a senior doctor posted on social media.

Others, like paediatrician Shantanu Ray, felt the govt could have been a little more lenient. "If not livestreaming, they could have been allowed to record the proceedings. At least that would have allowed the discussions to take place. Having said that, a hard-line posture will not solve this issue. We need to revive the talks immediately without being rigid," said Ray.

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