HYDERABAD: The decision of over 250 junior doctors at Osmania Hospital to call off their strike that began on Sunday night has led to a huge sigh of relief by patients who were stranded outside the gates of Osmania and other aligned hospitals in the hopes of an affordable treatment.
The strike has been called off for 24 hours after an assurance by the director of medical education. The junior doctor’s panel claims it wil continue the strike indefinitely if the promises are not kept. “We are tired of raising the same complaints again and again. This time we had resorted to a drastic action because it was the last straw. Hopefully this time we won’t be disappointed and our demands will be met. Until now only the emergency services were running but we have now opened up the electives too,” said a junior doctor.
The Director of Medical Education (DME), Ramesh Reddy says, “We had a discussion with the Junior Doctors Association and the hospital authorities. I have assured the junior doctors that the vulnerable areas will get extra security in no time. We also want to increase the special security force deployed but that requires permission from the government which might take a few weeks.”
He also stated that CCTV cameras would be installed in areas along with pressure alarms that are linked to police stations to ensure safety.
Lokesh Beerakayala, a member of the junior doctors association says, “We have called off the strike noticing the difficulties the patients had to face but it should be understood that a lot of junior doctors suffer too. Despite the junior doctors facing a dearth of basic facilities, they still continue to work.”
They are often blamed for the cases however the lack of drugs and equipment cannot be attributed to them.” The DME has however requested the hospital authorities to make sure that there was an enough supply of drugs and equipment in the hospital.
Another recent development that the junior doctors approved of is the restricting of the attendance of bystanders in the emergency areas by closing off the multiple entry points. The duty Resident Medical Officer (RMO) on Sunday night, Dr. Moin Siddiqui has been placed under suspension for dereliction of duty. Dr. Moin Siddiqui says, “I behaved according to the protocol of the hospital and had alerted the authorities as soon as the incident took place. I also called the superintendent to the hospital when the situation was aggravated.”
On Tuesday evening the junior doctors of Osmania burnt effigies of the Superintendent and the RMO for their inaction.
