The resident doctors resumed their strike against the repeated delays in the NEET PG counselling process that has hit medical services across the country. Counselling for postgraduate medical admissions, for doctors who have qualified in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG is not likely to start before January.
After a brief lull, the resident doctors of the three Centre-run hospitals in Delhi resumed their strike on Friday and boycotted all services, including emergency.
They pointed out the "acute shortage" of resident doctors across the country as the counselling of NEET PG 2021 batch has already been delayed by eight months.
Doctors are demanding expediting of the NEET-PG 2021 counselling and admission which has left nearly 50,000 aspirants in the sway.
In Delhi, nearly 5,000 resident doctors, many from the LNJP Hospital resumed their strike on Dec 17 which has affected medical and emergency services in various other Hospitals including Safdarjung and Ram Manohar Lohia.
The NEET exams were to happen in May but were postponed to September due to the second wave.
"They always give verbal assurance of expediting counselling; it's been delayed 3-4 times already. We repeatedly demand the counselling schedule," news agency ANI quoted saying General Secy-Resident Doctors Association, Dr Prateek Goyal.
The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) had called off the strike on Dec 9 for a week following the IAF chopper crash and the health ministry's assurance to expedite court hearing and subsequently fast-track the counselling process.
However, even after a week, there was no action taken by the Ministry which is in stark contrast to their fake promises and false assurances, said a release issued by the Resident Doctors Association of Safdarjung hospital. FRODA on Wednesday (Dec 15) wrote to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informing him that it was resuming the strike.
"With the threat of the third wave of COVID-19 looming large, the best the authorities could have done was to expedite the counselling and subsequent admission process - instead, there is inaction and lack of urgency in the matter. Hence, as informed earlier, resident doctors are left with no choice but to go for withdrawal from all services (routine as well as emergency) in healthcare institutions, 17th December 2021 onwards. The onus of this unfortunate situation affecting healthcare services is on the authorities," FORDA's letter read.
Deployment of 50,000 PG candidates has been kept hostage for a policy, the criteria of which are yet to be studied and decided, and the legal validity of which is unclear as of yet. This is despite the fact that the Omicron variant has entered India, said FORDA members.
The counselling of NEET PG 2021 batch has already been delayed by eight months.
(with inputs from sources)
