Doctors strike in Nepal to protest mob attacks

Doctors throughout Nepal went on strike Thursday to protest attacks by mobs on at least two hospitals and their staff earlier this week in disputes over patients who died, the Nepal Medical Association said.

Photo: Doctors strike in Nepal to protest mob attacks

Doctors at private and government hospitals in cities and towns across the country halted work for one day, but emergency services remained open, according to Dr. Sudha Adhikari, a member of the association.

At Bir Hospital, the main hospital in Katmandu, patients were turned away without treatment because of the strike. Hospital staff told them to return on Friday.

On Wednesday, a mob attacked the Everest Nursing Home in Katmandu after a patient suffering from asthma died and his son was beaten by hospital guards when he tried to attack the doctor, according to hospital staff.

The hospital admitted it was at fault in the patient's death because it did not have bottled oxygen. The hospital has agreed to pay 250,000 rupees (US$3,470; Ђ 2,890) in compensation.

At a regional hospital in Butwal, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Katmandu, an accident victim died Tuesday because of alleged doctor negligence, triggering an angry protest in which mobs stoned the hospital and a dozen clinics in the town. They also vandalized drug stores and abused doctors.

"We are demanding an immediate investigation of the attacks on the hospital and medical staff and punishment for those involved in the attack," the medical association said.

Doctors are often accused of negligence in Nepal, and there is little recourse for deaths due to improper or inadequate treatment, reports the AP.

I.L.