The ongoing strike by the junior doctors, which entered into fourth day on Sunday, has made the condition of MGM Medical College and Hospital tough. The junior doctors, who are agitating for a stipend on a par with RIMS and for payment of their four-month pending stipend, have threatened to expand the impact of strike by closing the Out Patient Departments from Monday if their demands were not met.
Under the banner of the Junior Doctors' Association (JDA), the junior doctors on Sunday demonstrated in front of the emergency, OPD and main administrative building in support of their demand. Chandrashekhra Mahto, president of the JDA said that they would force the OPD to close from Monday if their demands are not met.
“Our demands are genuine. We have not been paid for four months. If the State health department does not pay heed to our demand, the ongoing strike will get intensified further,” said Mahto.
There are 120 junior doctors and interns, who help in treatment of the patients especially at the hospital Emergency and OPD. They also visit different wards along with the senior doctors for attending to the patients. In absence of their duty, the senior doctors have to work in the emergency as well as the OPDs.
The Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Saturday had also asked the junior doctors of MGM Medical College and Hospital to end their strike. He had said that the pending salaries of four months will be released in a week. The doctors must return to work and on humanitarian ground, they must extend services to the patients immediately.
Meanwhile, superintendent, MGM Medical College and Hospital, RY Chowdhury claimed that they are trying their best to keep situation normal. The strike by the junior doctors has not affected the treatment in the hospital. In fact, we can do without the service of the junior doctors,” said Chowdhury.
However, the patients turning up at the emergency have to wait for considerable time before being treated. Today being Sunday, the OPDs were closed, but several patients were seen waiting for treatment at the emergency.
Patients at State-owned MGM at Sakchi faced harrowing time on Sunday as doctors observed strike. Shahid Parvez of Mango was suffering from pain after a dog bite on Sunday evening. He had come for taking medicines for dog bite from the MGM Medical College and Hospital. However, not finding any doctor, he had to return home after spending two hours at the hospital after being informed by others that the doctors were on strike.