Doctors on 12-hour strike today

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat state branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA) declared support to a nation-wide 6 am to 6 pm strike today against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2017.

On Saturday, all non-emergency services including OPD would remain closed for the 12 hours. However, critical services including deliveries, emergencies and in-patient care would be provided, the doctors’ association said.

IMA is protesting the bill for some of its features such as central administered final MBBS exam, representation of states by rotation, denial of autonomy of medical profession etc.

“The Bill has a draconian character which will cause irreparable damage to the interests of all the stakeholders and would reduce down regulatory mechanism to a puppetry with its strings attached to the government,” the release said.