Govt writes deans to suspend striking doctors

As medical services continued to be paralysed and hapless patients suffered due to the indefinite strike by resident doctors in government and civic hospitals across the state, the government officials threatened to take serious action against the doctors if they do not end the strike. Officials said the residents doctors are basically students and rendering services as part of their course studies. Moreover, fee charged from these students is negligible as compared to lakhs charged by self-financed colleges.

The striking doctors have not attended to any emergencies, leading the Health Department to pull out resources from the district hospitals.

“We have written to the deans to suspend from immediate effect the fourth year resident doctors as well as doctors who have got admission in super-specialty courses if they fail to join duty. First, second and third year residents will be suspended while the registration of doctors newly admitted to super specialties will be terminated. We have also put police on the campuses and will ask the striking doctors to vacate the college and hostel premises on Monday,” state’s health and family welfare secretary Ravi Saxena said.

The state health secretary has also sent a formal communication to the superintendents of all government hospitals to ask the agitating doctors to call off the strike or face dire consequences. Holidays and weekly-offs of all the deans have been canceled.

Meanwhile, eight doctors have been reportedly given termination orders verbally in Vadodara. Four belong to the R4 category (doctors who have passed their medical exams but want to practice for another additional year in the hospital) and four from the MCh plastic surgery department.