Strike shuts down hospitals in Nepal capital

Nepalese doctors walked off the job Wednesday, shutting down hospitals and clinics in the capital to pressure the government to protect them against attacks by angry relatives of patients who have died. Dr. Kedar Narsingh of the Nepal Medical Association said all private and government hospitals were closing for one day to protest the government's failure to provide security for doctors and medical staff.

Emergency services remained open, he said.

There have been several incidents in the past year in Nepal where patients have died, and their family members have attacked or threatened hospitals and doctors, alleging negligence in their relatives' death, according to Narsingh.

In the latest incident, the family of a patient who died after kidney surgery threatened doctors at a hospital in Katmandu over the weekend.

Narsingh said the government had promised better security at hospitals two years ago after a similar incident led to a doctors' strike, but little has been done.