Punjab Medical Council on Monday warned the striking doctors to “immediately” resume their duties, otherwise they would be forced to initiate strict action including suspension or cancellation of their registration. The council has asked the doctors, who have been on strike since May 2 across Punjab by not offering special services (surgeries), to resume their duties failing which it shall be “forced to initiate action against them in accordance with the Medical Council of India (MCI) directions and the Supreme Court orders including suspension or cancellation of their license”.
“Your fight is with the Government and not with the poor patients whom you are denying specialist treatment and who cannot afford to go to the private hospitals…You can fight in many other ways like resignations rather than denying treatment to the poor patients,” said PMC president Dr GS Grewal. He said that in view of the Supreme Court judgment and MCI letter to all the state medical councils, “I being the president of the statutory body cannot remain a silent spectator to the ongoing strike by specialist cadre of the PCMS doctors and I will have to act”. Maintaining to act “in public interest only” using his emergency powers provided in the Medical Registration Act, Dr Grewal asked the doctors to better introspect than resorting to strike.
Dr Grewal asked them as how did some of them justify running private nursing homes in the respective hometowns while working with the government much against the service rules. MCI, in its letter, has made it clear that no doctor, government or private, can henceforth go on strike. Violations of the orders may lead to serious penal action, including removal of the name from PMC register, which means suspension of licence. PCMS specialist doctors’ association has, on the other hand, maintained that they were “not on strike and have not violated any law”. They argued that they are in “'work to rule” by not rendering specialist services but going to the hospital daily and treating the patients.