HYDERABAD: The new health minister, Etela Rajender has his immediate task cut out - of ensuring that government hospitals in the State do not descend into chaos and the deadline for it is not far, March 10.
Some of the demands that the Health Minister has to fulfil include increase the number of armed special protection force personnel to at least two at every emergency department and ICU, cancel the contract with Agile group for providing private security, limiting of visitors to only one per patient, help desks at each department, increased CCTV cameras, sign boards indicating penal actions against assaulting doctors, clearing pending stipend arrears.
“Junior doctors associations from Osmania, Gandhi, Niloufer, Kakatiya Medical Colleges and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) have decided to boycott emergency as well as elective duties from March 11, if these demands are not met with,’’ said advisor to TJUDA, Dr G Srinivas, speaking to Express.
This is the repercussion of three separate incidents of post-graduates medicos and interns, also known as junior doctors, coming under physical assault by kin of patients at Gandhi, Niloufer hospitals and NIMS in the last three weeks.
Ironically, the incident of doctor coming under assault occurred on Friday night, soon after the Health Minister’s visit. Following the incident, junior doctors in the two hospitals boycotted duties in the general wards as well as the emergency department and ICUs. Following this Telangana Junior Doctors’ JAC submitted a representation to the Health Minister on Friday with a list of 12 demands.