Maharashtra Strike: 1000 Protesting Doctors Asked to Vacate Hostel

The Bombay High Court will likely hear the case of doctors going on strike in the state, on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

Taking action against the doctors on strike, at least 1000 doctor were served with an expulsion notice in KEM and Sion hospital in Mumbai, The Indian Express reported.

Dismissing the news of the withdrawal of the strike, Dr Parthiv Sanghvi of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said they are still supporting the strike.

Absolutely false and misguiding,doctors have not taken their strike back, we are supporting strike completely.

Dr Parthiv Sanghvi, IMA to ANI

The Maharashtra medical education minister Girish Mahajan had earlier said that the doctors who had been on strike, had agreed to resume work by 8 pm on Wednesday after meeting with him.

He also added:

(We have) assured doctors that we will take strong steps for their security and measures will be in place in 15 days.

Earlier in the day, Dean of Government Medical College, Nagpur, had reportedly suspended 301 of its resident doctors over the issue.

The Bombay High Court will likely hear the case on Thursday. The hearing didn’t take place on Wednesday due to the unavailability of the Chief Justice’s bench.

Over 4,000 resident doctors have been staying away from work since Monday, demanding better security for them at hospitals in the wake of a string of attacks on them.

Mahajan had warned that if doctors don’t return to work by 8 pm on Wednesday, six months’ salary will be cut.

The protesting doctors invited the wrath of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, which observed that their conduct was "shameful" and asked them to resign if they don't want to work.

If you (doctors) do not want to work, then resign. You are not factory workers that you will resort to such protests. Shame on you. How can doctors behave in such a manner?

Justice Manjula Chellur, HC Chief

The protest, however, continued as the doctors feel that the government has been paying only "lip service" to their cause and doing nothing to instil a sense of safety in them.

We don’t feel safe in such a situation. We cannot concentrate fully on patients. Every delegation of ours that met with state officials has got only assurances but nothing was implemented. As long as a resident doctor does not feel safe, he or she is free to remain on leave or not report to duty.

A doctor to PTI

A senior official of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said the medical services in the Out Patient Departments (OPDs) were primarily affected in the absence of resident doctors.

However, emergency health services, including taking care of accident patients, surgeries and providing post-operative care to those admitted in various hospitals, were being maintained by senior doctors, he said.

Asked about the plight of patients due to the stir, Indian Medical Association (IMA) general secretary Parthiv Sanghavi said:

One must not forget that resident doctors are the junior-most ones in any government hospital. There are senior doctors who are still treating patients in these hospitals and they are not part of such mass leave. In some cases, there are some delays and we feel bad about it, but we are forced to take such steps.

As a part of the protest, some of the resident doctors have availed leave, while the others are not reporting to duty. They are claiming that a large number of relatives come along with the patients and this puts pressure on them and affects their working.

Recently, a resident doctor was severely beaten up in the Dhule civil hospital by the relatives of a patient. In Nashik civil hospital, an on-duty doctor and a nurse were manhandled by the kin of a patient who died on Thursday.

Last week, a doctor in the BMC-run Sion hospital in Mumbai was also manhandled.

A meeting held on Monday between the Maharashtra Principal Secretary for Medical Education, Rajagopal Devara, and representatives of the resident doctors had failed to resolve the deadlock.

(With inputs from PTI.)