Several leading hospitals in Delhi saw little disruption in their daily routine on Tuesday even as the Indian Medical Association (IMA), with its two-lakh membership, called for a national strike against the provisions of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.
A doctor at a private hospital here said that they had fewer staff than usual in the morning shift but it did not impact the smooth functioning of the hospital.
Sarita Devi, who was visiting a private hospital in west Delhi, said that she found the OPD rather empty.
“Several people have perhaps read about the strike in the paper and chose to postpone their visit. The crowd was thinner than usual,” she added.
Poonam Dhandha of Safdarjung Hospital said “there was no disruption or dip in attendance at the OPD”.
Vinod Goel, president of IMA (central branch), said the “Bill is regressive and will give free licence to quacks”. He added there were no immediate plans to hold demonstrations but the IMA’s main office in Delhi was hosting protest meetings at its premises.
Purview of strike
Medical services at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the All India Institute of Medical Science were also largely unaffected. A senior official at AIIMS said that because emergency services and treatment to in-patient departments didn’t come under the purview of the strike, it didn’t significantly derail routine.
The NMC Bill proposes a government-nominated chairman and members, who will be selected by a committee under the Cabinet Secretary. The medical fraternity is opposing the clause fearing the body would effectively be run by the government and it also allows practitioners of ayurveda and other traditional Indian systems of medicine the licence to prescribe allopathic drugs after they have passed a ‘bridge course’.
