The Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal demanded an unconditional apology from Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, alleging a misleading post after the latter said that a young boy from Konnagar lost his life after bleeding for 3 hours without receiving medical attention, a consequence of the ongoing protest by doctors in response to the RG Kar Medical College incident.
The Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal in a letter to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said that they were writing to formally protest and express deep concern regarding the untrue and malicious statement he posted on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on September 6, 2024, at 10:27 PM.
The letter stated, “In your post, you stated that a young boy from Konnagar lost his life today following a road accident, after bleeding for 3 hours without receiving medical attention, a consequence of ongoing protest by doctors in response to the #RGkar incident.”
https://twitter.com/hey_its_sayan/status/1832822552944890145
The letter said that this statement is categorically false and misleading.
“The young male patient, suffering from polytrauma due to a tragic road accident, was referred to a higher center from Srirampur and was received at R.G. Kar Medical College promptly at 9:10 AM on the same day, September 6, 2024. The doctors on duty immediately attended to him and continued to provide medical care at several intervals until his unfortunate demise at 12:30 PM, as noted in the provisional death certificate. The bed head tickets as well as the statement of the MSVP of RGKMCH will categorically substantiate our claim and refute your post,” the letter stated.
The letter further said that contrary to the claim, the patient did not “bleed for 3 hours without receiving medical attention.”
“Your assertion lacks any foundation in truth and disregards the efforts made by the medical professionals who did everything within their power to save the patient’s life. Your public statement is not only factually incorrect but also potentially dangerous. By spreading such misinformation, you are risking inciting violence and hostility against the medical community, which is already under immense pressure and shock after the heinous crime committed against a trainee doctor at RGKMCH on August 9, 2024. Such baseless accusations further demoralize healthcare professionals who are struggling to serve the people of this state, despite the hostile conditions they currently face,” the letter added.
The Joint Platform of Doctors demanded an unconditional public apology from Abhishek Banerjee.
“In light of these facts, we demand that you issue an unconditional public apology to the medical fraternity and immediately retract your false statement. It is imperative that political leaders like yourself exercise responsibility and ensure that your words do not inflame tensions or lead to further unrest. We expect you to set the record straight and take corrective action promptly to prevent any potential repercussions arising from your misleading post,” the letter by the Joint Platform of Doctors added.
Taking to X on September 6 Abhishek Banerjee wrote, “A young boy from Konnagar lost his life today following a road accident, after BLEEDING FOR 3 HOURS WITHOUT RECEIVING MEDICAL ATTENTION, a consequence of the ongoing protest by doctors in response to the #RGKar incident. While the demands of the junior doctors are both fair and valid, I urge them to protest in a way that doesn’t disrupt essential medical services. Allowing a death due to PREVENTABLE NEGLECT is tantamount to CULPABLE HOMICIDE. If the protest has to continue, it should be done constructively, with empathy and humanity, ensuring no more lives are put at risk through inaction or neglect.”
(with inputs from ANI)
