Jamshedpur MGM Hospital: Junior doctors end strike after Saryu’s assurance

Patients suffer on day 2 of the strike

Jamshedpur, July 12: Junior doctors at MGM Medical College Hospital have decided to end the strike after assurance from Jamshedpur East MLA Saryu Roy on Tuesday.

Saryu Roy has expressed happiness over the withdrawal of strike by junior doctors at MGM Hospital. He said that the doctors have shown practical approach by withdrawing the strike and have shown confidence in our talks and now it is up to the government officials.

Saryu through a press communique informed that he visited the hospital on Tuesday morning and held talks with junior doctors in the presence of hospital superintendent. Saryu later went to the OPD to meet juniors doctors and spoke over phone to the Chief Secretary in-charge of the state. Chief Secretary said that he would send the file to the finance department today itself and propose that about Rs 35 crore would be given in advance from the contingency fund so that the arrears of 5 months could be paid as salary to doctors.

Earlier during the day several patients were forced to return from the MGM Medical College Hospital as the junior doctors continued their strike on the second day today against the non-payment of stipend.

On the second day of the strike, the doctors completely shut down OPD in the second half of the day further intensifying the agitation.

About 250 junior doctors of the medical college hospital are on strike from Monday, in protest against the non-payment of their stipend for the past five months.

The agitated doctors have announced to observe a two-day strike in support of their demand and threatened for an indefinite period from Wednesday if their demand for stipend payment is not fulfilled in these two days.

The MGM medical college hospital superintendent Arun Kumar said that the hospital emergency is functioning due to the presence of senior doctors, but the OPD remained completely closed.

“The striking junior doctors entered into the OPD block and locked up its gate from inside. As a result, neither any patient nor any senior doctor can enter into it. We had called in the police but the situation remained the same” said Kumar.

MGM medical college hospital is the only viable government-run health hub across Kolhan from where hundreds of people turn up for treatment every day.

In absence of their duty, the senior doctors had to work in the emergency.  At the emergency, the senior doctors generally tend to avoid sitting in the emergency which is handled mainly by the junior doctors and the interns.

“Certainly, if the government fails to concede to our pleas in the next one week than we are afraid the health services in the state will go paralyze,” said a doctor.