West Bengal: Newborn dies due to lack of treatment amid doctors' protest

A new-born child died on Thursday in Agarpara due to alleged medical negligence amid doctors' strike across the state.

"It is my bad luck. My child died due to lack of treatment. He was not attended by any doctor because of their strike," baby's father Abhijit Mallik told reporters in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal.Various medical bodies called doctors' strike across the country to protest over rising violence against the medical fraternity after a junior doctor of Nil Ratan Sarkar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital was allegedly attacked by the relative of a patient who died on June 10.

According to Mallik, the child was born on June 11 and was ailing with a breathing problem. His condition deteriorated on June 12, the doctors of the hospital asked him to go to the child-specialist hospital.Mallik claimed that he went to several hospitals but they did not attend the ailing child after which the child died on June 30 in the morning.

The deceased child's father also alleged that the state's health department did not respond to his call.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to protesting doctors in the state to get back to work and ensure that hospitals can run "smoothly and peacefully".However, the protesting doctors have not called off the strike yet and are demanding adequate security in every medical college and hospital.