Around 20,000 resident doctors of the Central and Delhi Government hospitals went on mass casual leave between 9 am to 4 pm to stand in solidarity with their counterpart in Mumbai demanding that their security concerns should be ensured. Although emergency services were not affected but services in Outpatient department (OPD), indoor and routine operation theatres came to halt.
Doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) though did not go on mass leave, however, they treated patients with helmets on their heads to lodge their protest against the attacks on doctors in Maharashtra.
Healthcare services were hampered in the national Capital because of the mass leave, but the resident doctors on emergency duty turned up for work. Residents’ doctors from around 40 Government hospitals, including RMl, lady Hardinge Medical College and Safdarjung Hospitals stayed away from work, while those at AIIMS continued with their protest against assaults on doctors by wearing helmets at work for the second day.
Dr JC Plassey, Medical Director of lok Nayak Hospital said “The incidents of assault on doctors are rising every day. It is occurring both in Government as well as private hospitals. Patients and their relatives are taking law into their hands which is not acceptable.”
He further added that indoor patients and emergency services are not affected from the move. The hospital administration has deployed resident doctors and even faculty members to look after the patient.
“We also want the attendant of the patient to understand the situation. If something unusual happen during treatment the members of deceased losses their cool. We want that a proper security should be provided to ensure security,” he said.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has around 2.7 lakh members across the country, has extended support to the strike while the doctors associated with Delhi Medical Association (DMA) have called for an Out Patient Department (OPD) bandh on Friday.
“The action (mass causal leave) was taken in view assaults on doctors and also to show solidarity to our colleagues in Maharashtra who have been threatened with salary cuts for not joining duty,” Dr Pankaj Solanki, president of The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) said.
A senior doctor, from a government hospital, on the condition of anonymity said, “We have postponed the operations planned for today (Thursday). We didn’t want to go on mass leave which will affect patients but the matter of our security should be addressed as soon as possible. Government should wake up to ensure safety first and public should understand before being hostile towards us that we are not god.
“Only doctors running the emergency services and the ICU are working, the rest of us have taken the day off. Consultants and faculties are running the out-patient department. All the serious cases are being addressed and not even a single patient are left untreated. The incident at Maharashtra is so grim that instead of providing security to resident doctors at their workplace, Maharashtra government is threatening them. We are with them” he said.