Doctors withdraw protest after talks with minister

Marathon talks between the government doctors and Health minister C Vijaya Baskar began at noon and went on till 10 pm
Government doctors sat on one-day strike on Tuesday at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai demanding pay hike | D SAMPATHKUMAR
Government doctors sat on one-day strike on Tuesday at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai demanding pay hike | D SAMPATHKUMAR

CHENNAI: Government doctors withdrew their protest after Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar assured them that their demands will be met within six weeks.
Marathon talks between the government doctors and the minister began at noon and went on till 10 pm. 
The minister called for a meeting with the representatives of doctors at the Secretariat, hours after the strike was intensified on Tuesday.

After the talks health minister said pay hike as per GO 354 will be implemented and also doctors strength depending on the patients load will be increased in hospitals. These will be done within six weeks of time. A committee under Senthilraj, Project Director, Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society, will review the progress every two weeks.
The minister said he will also discuss all the demands of doctors with the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Hundreds of doctors assembled at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital campus, to stage a protest to highlight their four-point charter of demands which included pay hike. Patients health care services across the districts were hit after government doctors went on a one- day strike, excluding emergency and casualty services.

Medical college hospitals in Chennai, however, managed patient care services with the help of post graduate doctors and doctors who did not take part in the protest. Six government doctors began a fast unto-death on Friday with other doctors extending support to them. Among six, the health condition of four deteriorated and they were hospitalised.
The DMK, CPI and CPI(M) extended their support to the doctors protest. Members of Federation of Government Doctors Association had been staging various protests.

OP services hit in several hospitals

Chennai: Out-patient services at government healthcare institutions across the State were hit by a strike observed by the umbrella organization of government doctors-Federation of Government Doctors Association (FOGDA) on Tuesday. Leaders of FOGDA claimed that except emergency services, other activities in the medical colleges, government hospitals (GHs) and primary health centres (PHCs) were largely affected. The doctors also staged demonstrations  to press their various demands  

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The New Indian Express
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