The junior doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) ended their strike after their meeting with the Health Minister at the Secretariat in the city on Wednesday. They resumed their respective duties at the hospital by the evening shift. A press release issued by the Health Minister's office stated that the V. S. Vijay, Health Minister had agreed to all the demands the junior doctors.
V. Kanagasabai, the Dean of GH said that the Health Minister had come down to Chennai from Puddukottai to meet the doctors on Wednesday.
Two of the representative associations met the minister at the Secretariat. The doctors had begun the strike on Sunday after a postgraduate student was manhandled by attendants to a patient at the GH.
Though the Health Minister encouraged the junior doctors and the post graduate students to not press for the arrest of the individuals responsible for the incident, he assured them that they will be booked under the Hospital Protection Act of 2008.
A token system will be put in place where passes will be issued to one attendant per patient admitted in the vital wards like the intensive care unit, the trauma ward and emergency rooms.
The Health Minister also announced the formation of a high-level committee headed by the Principal Secretary, Health, Girija Vaidyanathan.
The committee will also include house surgeons, non-service post graduate students and other representative officials. The press release further stated that their demands would be sent to the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, and that necessary action will be taken.
P. Balakrishnan, the State secretary of the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA), said the Minister had assured them a security system would be put in place based on the committee's report, which will be submitted on June 15.
In return they had promised to resume their duties at the hospital with immediate effect.
Keywords: GH strike, medical profession
