There appears to be no respite for patients from the ongoing strike of medical services at government hospitals in the capital. Medicos on Sunday maintained that they are waiting for a ‘credible' and ‘honest' assurance from authorities to implement their three major demands before they decide to call-off the strike.
The junior doctors said that the authorities were not serious about implementing residential system, and gave no clarity on mandatory rural service and stipends.
Meanwhile on Sunday, one of the woman junior doctor, who was part of the indefinite hunger strike at Gandhi Hospital, was admitted to ICU. In all, of the 12 junior doctors on indefinite hunger strike, four are in serious condition.
While defending their stand to continue with boycott of medical duties, medicos said that in 2006, authorities had agreed to implement the residential system at government hospitals. Osmania and Gandhi General Hospitals and S. V. Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati were chosen for residential system.
Residential system
A full-fledged residential system will enable patients to have round-the-clock access to doctors at government hospitals. The residential system entails facilities like evening clinics, evening ‘rounds' by doctors in in-patient wards, 24-hour laboratory facilities, better stipends, boarding facilities for house-surgeons and well-equipped emergency wards.
“Last August, authorities had announced Rs.65 crore to improve emergency services at each teaching hospital. The funds never materialised. To implement residential system, the government has to invest over Rs.50 crore on each government teaching hospital. It is just lip service when authorities claim that they are ready to implement the residential system,” junior doctors said.
Many say that Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana have successfully already implemented residential system. “The facilities for patients will improve greatly. Government doctors under residential system are answerable because they have all facilities they can get,” medicos maintain.
Junior doctors allege that the government is not interested to fill permanent posts with doctors at Primary Health Centres. “Authorities are trying to post junior doctors at PHCs and in the process avoid filling up the permanent vacancies. Why can't the government offer us permanent jobs at PHCs?” medicos question.
