Nearly 400 resident doctors at the State-run JJ Hospital continued their strike for the second day on Sunday.
The doctors stopped work on Saturday after a patient’s relatives attacked two resident doctors and ransacked the ward. They will not resume work till security guards are appointed in each ward and an alarm system is put up, or the government gives a written assurance to do so.
On Sunday, representatives of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) from JJ Hospital met Dr. S.D. Nanandkar, dean of the hospital, and Dr. Prakash Wakode, joint director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). However, after the meetings did not yield any result for them, the doctors decided to continue the strike.
Hospital services were not affected severely as it was a weekend, but the strike is likely to continue on Monday as well. Dr. Nanandkar said he has cancelled vacation leaves of 120 doctors and has asked them to report to work on Monday.
Slow response
MARD said it had been demanding better security arrangements since last year, but the government response has been slow.
JJ Hospital currently has 170 security guards. If a guard has to be posted in every ward and sensitive areas, the hospital will need around 80 more. “Such procedures take time,” Dr. Nanandkar said. He said the hospital is already in the process of looking for a wireless alarm system for the premises.
Dr. Alok Singh, president of KEM MARD, who was also present in Sunday’s meeting, said resident doctors in all other hospitals will wear black ribbons while working as a sign of protest. “Since last year, the hospital has not received the number of security guards as demanded. The pass system is not implemented well. We had also demanded an alarm system last year, which is yet to be installed,” Dr. Singh said. He said the striking doctors would ensure minimum impact on emergency services.
Three-pronged approach
The problem requires a stringent three-pronged solution, say medical profession veterans: allowing a limited number of relatives inside a ward like in private hospitals; beefing up security at every level; and teaching doctors to communicate emphatically with patient.
Family physician Dr. K.R. Dhebri, 65, who has been practising medicine for 39 years, said, “In public hospitals, doctors are extremely overworked. It could be that, at times, they fail to communicate properly. The MBBS curriculum should have some hours of doctor-patient communication and relationship building training,” Dr. Dhebri said.
He said security personnel should be assigned in such a way that they can reach the spot to take control of the situation in seconds. “There should be alarms systems as well.” Dr. Dhebri also said that there is a lack of leadership in organisations representing doctors to bring about change.
