The ongoing indefinite strike of contractual staffs of health departments entered into fifth day on Sunday. Due to the strike of contractual staffs of NRHM, RCH and VBD staffs the health services have been paralyzed in the district. In Hazaribagh district since the first day of the strike the PHCs have been locked and now the agitators have started disturbing the services at Sadar Hospital, Hazaribagh, too.
After locking all the 140 Primary Health Care Centers of the rural areas of the district the staffs on strike showed their strength at Sadar Hospital on Saturday after gathering inside the hospital premises.
The agitators first disturbed the OPD by forcibly taking out the doctors from the chambers. After that they locked the civil surgeon office, malaria office, TB office, malnutrition center, ART centre. They also misbehaved with the civil surgeon.
On Sunday too, they entered into the wards and started pushing out the patients and their attendants from there. At Sadar Hospital the administration was taking help of trainee nurses and some social workers with whom the agitators also misbehaved and forced them to go out of the campus. After about two hours when district administration interfered and police came the situation of the hospital campus became normal.
The contractual staffs are on strike demanding for the fulfillment of their seven demands. They are demanding to permanent their services, increase in salary, maternity facilities to the lady staffs, group insurance, earn leave facility, contributory PF and medical facilities. Since last two days the Sadar Hospital campus is echoing with their slogans in which the health secretary and director of the state are on the target.
Civil Surgeon Dr. Vinay Kumar and other doctors seem to be sympathetic as they said that the demands are genuine and government should talk to them to resolve the problem. The contractual staffs are blaming the state health secretary and director for the deadlock. They said that they do not want to give pain to the patient and our agitation was peaceful but when we found that government is not hearing then in anger we entered into the wards.
The rural and poor people are suffering a lot due to this strike. In their villages the PHCs are locked because these are run by the contractual workers and in town at Sadar Hospital too the services have been disrupted by the agitators.