The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Katmandu

Striking doctors in Nepal shut down all the hospitals and clinics in the Himalayan nation Thursday, demanding better government protection against attacks by angry relatives of patients who have died.

Doctors had shut down hospitals in the capital, Katmandu, on Wednesday and expanded the strike to the rest of the country on Thursday. Emergency services remained open.

Doctors groups say there have been several incidents over the past year in which people attacked or threatened hospitals and doctors over allegations of negligence in their relatives' deaths.

Dr. Kedar Narsingh of the Nepal Medical Association said the strike would continue until the government responds to their demands.

"The government has not even bothered to call us for talks and has not taken us seriously," he said. "We will continue our protest until the government responds positively."

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 that little has been done.