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Over 20,000 docs to go on mass leave today

Instead of providing security to resident doctors, the govt is threatening them. At AIIMS, doctors are forced to work with helmets: Dr Vijay Gurjar

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More than 20,000 resident doctors in Delhi’s 40 government hospitals will be on mass leave from 9am to 4pm on Thursday, protesting instances of violence against doctors in Maharashtara. The protest is expected to leave health services crippled in the Capital that sees a footfall of more than one lakh patients daily.  In Mumbai, while emergency services continued in most hospitals with senior doctors and interns attending to patients, the out patient departments (OPDs) were affected, and planned surgeries stood cancelled.

The decision by Delhi doctors to go on mass leave was taken after relatives of a deceased patient thrashed a resident doctor in Maharashtra.

Both in Delhi and Mumbai, the situation is expected to be grim with all OPDs and other services being shut.

Delhi has been witnessing a steep rise in cases of assault on doctors. In the last 18 months, more than 40 cases have been reported, and in 20 instances, the doctors have gone on strike demanding safety and security in hospitals.

“The resident doctors are going on a mass leave on Thursday. Doctors working in the emergency department will be the only ones working during this period, rest of them will be on leave. We support our fellow doctors in Maharashtra and will back them till the end. If no decision is taken on their demands by Thursday, we all will go on an indefinite strike,” said Dr Pankaj Solanki, President, Federation of Resident Doctors’ Assocation (FORDA) in Delhi.

On Wednesday, doctors at the country’s premier medical institute -- All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – walked around wearing a helmet along with their regular stethoscope and lab coats  as a mark of protest and as a symbol of safety and security.

“Instead of providing security to resident doctors at their workplace, the government is threatening them. We, resident doctors at AIIMS are forced to work with helmets in the emergency department as we don’t want to lose our vision and life. Prevention is better than cure,” said Dr Vijay Gurjar, president, Resident doctors’ Association of AIIMS.

He also said that no one is sympathising with the doctors who are regularly brutally beaten up. Turn to P4

“There is no discussion on the compensation and instead steps are being taken to defame the profession,” Gurjar said.

The doctors are protesting recent cases of violence against medical personnel, including instances in Dhule and Mumbai’s Sion hospital – where relatives of patients attacked their respective doctors-in-charge.

The agitating doctors  said patients are usually accompanied by a large number of relatives, which puts pressure on them. They have demanded adequate security measures and a pass system, where not more than two relatives will be allowed to remain with a patient inside the ward.

Junior doctors across the state had launched the agitation to decry a series of attacks on medical personnel by relatives of patients. The agitators said they would resume work only if government hospitals were accorded additional security by the government.

Meanwhile, hospitals wore a deserted look in Mumbai on Wednesday after the word spread among patients about the resident doctors’ mass leave.

In a show of strength, the 40,000-member strong Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has a sizeable number of private doctors, too came out in support of the resident doctors. The association declared that only emergency services would be available on Thursday.

Parthiv Sanghvi, Secretary of IMA, said, “More than 40,000 IMA doctors will be joining the protest in support of resident doctors’ fight for basic rights. The agitation will continue in government and private hospitals where IMA members are working. Only emergency services will be operational; OPD and elective services will not be available. We have contacted 206 branches of IMA, requesting them to support the doctors.”

For a while it seemed like the healthcare nightmare for patients’ would snowball into a big crisis. But as doctors across Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run public hospitals received notices following instructions from the director of medical education, the resident doctors began to buckle.

Several resident doctors decided to return to work after an assurance from Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan on their security concerns and the implementation of ‘two relatives with each patient’ rule.

Mahajan had given an ultimatum to resident doctors, warning them of suspension and loss of pay for six months if they did not resume work by 8 pm on Wednesday.

“As a safety measure, we will deploy 1,100 security personnel in the next 15 days in public hospitals. They will be between the ages of 20 and 25 and specially trained. The number of CCTV cameras will be increased and a security committee will also be formed,” Mahajan said. Government sanctioned Rs 33 crore for the purpose.

Many resident doctors, including those at the state-run JJ Hospital returned to work as the 8 pm deadline drew closer. The IMA, however, stuck to its stand, going ahead with the strike in support of resident doctors who remained on mass leave in their individual capacity.

Earlier in the day, the hearing on a public interest litigation filed in the Bombay High Court seeking direction to withdraw the strike could not be taken up as Chief Justice Manjula Chellur did not attend the court.

The PIL filed by activist Afaq Mandaviya that seeks withdrawal of the strike as poor patients were affected is now likely to be heard on Thursday.

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