Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh): Patients who came to the emergency ward had to turn to private hospitals for treatment as doctors were on strike in the morning hours against bill regarding appointment of bureaucrats in government-run medical colleges in the state.
Due to doctors' strike, the Hamidia Hospital administration had to postpone the operation of 20 patients for the next 8 hours. A similar situation prevailed in hospitals attached to the MGM Medical College, Indore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, Gajraraja Medical College, Gwalior and other government medical colleges of the state.
Medical teachers association and junior doctors association (JUDA) who were on strike in the morning hours, postponed their strike which was to be carried on in protest against the Bill in Cabinet regarding appointment of bureaucrats as administrators in government-run medical colleges. On Tuesday, the state government postponed the Cabinet meeting. After that, the doctors too decided to postpone their strike.
MP Medical Teachers Association president Dr Rakesh Malviya said, ‘We thank Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and medical education minister Vishwas Sarang for assuring that the government will not bring any such kind of Bill regarding appointment of IAS officers as administrators in government- run medical colleges. After it, we postponed the strike. Secondly, the Cabinet meeting which was to be convened today for clearance of the Bill, was deferred.’
JUDA president Dr Amit Tandiya said, ‘Twenty operations were postponed in Hamidia Hospital as doctors were on strike in the morning hours. Even after calling off the strike, it took time to bring normalcy in hospital.’
According to doctors, currently, the dean and the medical superintendent are appointed from medical fraternity to run the administration in medical colleges as well as hospitals attached to colleges. Now IAS officers will be appointed and the entire scene will be changed. Doctors will not tolerate it.
Rather than improving the condition of medical colleges such appointments would spoil the system. There is no need to do that, because there are already many IAS and SAS officers including divisional commissioners and additional chief secretaries to oversee the health services.
