Punjab govt doctors go on strike, OPD services affected for 3 hours
Patients bear brunt but express solidarity with doctors’ demand for better security and safety measures in govt hospitals.
Government doctors in Punjab suspended outpatient department (OPD) services across the state from Monday for three days in support of their demands, including assured career progression.
The protest, being held under the banner of Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association, hit OPD services for three hours in district and sub-divisional hospitals, and community health centres.
The union said that safety measures promised by the state health minister are yet to be implemented on the ground. Additionally, no formal notification regarding timely promotions, a key demand in the ongoing protest, has been issued by the government despite repeated meetings.
PCMS Association president Dr Akhil Sarin said the union had earlier announced suspension of medical services for an indefinite period from September 9. “Instead of a complete indefinite shutdown, we suspended OPD services from 8am to 11am for three days,” he said.
Emergency medical services will continue.
Dr Sarin said the change in the call for the protest came in response to an appeal made by the health minister and an invitation for a meeting on Wednesday with the finance minister, who heads the cabinet sub-committee.
He said the protest was scaled down in public interest.
The PCMS warned if no significant outcome emerges from the September 11 meeting and the promotion-related notification is not issued, a complete strike will be started from September 12. The assured career progression (ACP) scheme is a programme that provides financial benefits and higher pay scales to government employees.
Patients at receiving end in Bathinda
Health services in Bathinda and adjoining districts of southwest Punjab were affected on Monday as doctors of government hospitals went on strike for three hours in the morning till 11 am.
Patients were seen waiting outside the OPD block of Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital in Bathinda. Protesting doctors said the state government should depute security personnel at the OPD and other wards for the safety of the healthcare staff.
A doctor at the local hospital said there were several instances where attendants and relatives of patients manhandled the doctors on different pretexts. “Women medical practitioners and other female staff always remain scared of physical and sexual violence in the absence of security arrangements. The state government should depute adequate number of guards,” said another doctor.
Long queues in Jalandhar hospitals
Health services remained crippled for three hours in all government health facilities in Doaba region due to the PCMSA strike call.
Long queues of patients were seen at the local civil hospital. Rajwinder Singh, who had come from Nakodar, said he had come to visit the orthopaedic department but came to know about the strike in the morning. “I had no choice than to wait for the strike to end to consult the doctor regarding my knee pain,” he said.
Another patient, Manjit Kaur, said it’s sad that doctors are also forced to go strike for the fulfilment of their demands. “We are with the doctors as the safety of the medical practitioners and para medical staff should be considered a priority,” she said.
Health staff struggles with backlog
Patients were left in the lurch in civil hospitals and other health centres of Amritsar district as medical officers went on strike for three hours and suspended OPD services on Monday in response to the statewide strike call.
The strike hit health services at the district-level Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital here. Patients, who were not aware of the strike call, reached the OPD only to find the doors of doctors’ rooms locked. They waited for services to resume. The medical staff found it difficult to control the rush of patients.
Dr Sameet Singh, the district president of Medical Officers’ Association, said the strike will be observed daily till September 11 when the meeting with the government will be held. “If our demands are not met, the strike will continue,” he added.
(With inputs by Vishal Joshi, Navrajdeep Singh and Surjit Singh)