The junior resident doctors of the six medical colleges in Jharkhand called off their strike on Wednesday following a meeting with health secretary KK Soan. However, the senior resident doctors have decided to continue with their strike until they get a concrete assurance from the government.
“The junior doctors at RIMS have ended their protest. But the senior residents of all the six medical colleges will continue with the strike until we get a concrete assurance from the government,” said Convener of Jharkhand Resident Doctors Association, Dr. Ajit Kumar.
Representatives of the senior resident doctors in Jharkhand are likely to meet Health Minister Banna Gupta on Thursday, sources said. The meeting might bring an end to the statewide protest. Thanking the junior doctors for ending their strike, Gupta on Wednesday said, “We want to see smile on the faces of our doctors. It is our responsibility to make sure that our doctors are happy.”
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) also extended its support to the protesting resident doctors on Wednesday and addressed a letter to Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking payment of arrears to the resident doctors at the earliest. The letter, addressed by Jharkhand IMA president Dr. Arun Kumar Singh, stated that the government should take necessary steps to pay the arrears of the protesting doctors as soon as possible as such protests create a bad image of the state
nationally.
“As a result of such protests, doctors from other parts of the country do not show intent to work in Jharkhand, and those working here end up leaving the state. If doctors develop a negative idea of Jharkhand, then it will eventually affect the functioning of the six medical colleges in the state,” the letter, a copy of which is with The Pioneer, stated.
Several hundred patients were denied OPD services at the six medical colleges across Jharkhand for the second consecutive day on Wednesday – leading to panic and chaos at some of the leading healthcare facilities in the state – as resident doctors continued to boycott OPD as a part of their indefinite strike against delay in payment of arrears of the seventh pay commission.
The OPDs, where the first stage of diagnosis and treatment happens for most of the patients who do not require beds in the hospital, remained closed in all the six medical colleges – Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College Hospital (MGM) in Jamshedpur, SNMMCH in Dhanbad, Palamu Medical College, Hazaribag Medical College and Dumka Medical College.
The protesting doctors have alleged that they were not paid salary as per the seventh pay commission since 2016 to March 2019. There are more than 500 resident doctors in Jharkhand. On an average, each doctor is entitled to payment of arrears worth several lakh, they said.
The doctors’ strike also rocked the state assembly on Wednesday as the opposition staged a demonstration outside the assembly demanding payment of arrears to the resident doctors and strengthening of the health facilities in the state.