NEW DELHI: Resident doctors at AIIMS called off their strike and resumed duties on Sunday after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured them that their concerns over the National Medical Commission Bill would be duly addressed.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Associations also decided to call of its strike, and as a result normal services will resume on Monday at hospitals run by the Delhi government.
Vardhan met a delegation of resident doctors associations of AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital and expressed the hope that they would end their strike keeping in view the problems patients were facing.
However, the Safdarjung resident doctors had not resumed non-essential services. Sources said the doctors were likely to take a decision on the strike in a governing body meeting.
In AIIMS, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) said in a communique to the AIIMS director that the minister had assured them of addressing their concerns while drafting the regulations of the National Medical Commission.
The minister also told them that representatives of the AIIMS RDA and the students’ union would be consulted while drafting the regulations.
“Agitating doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have called off their strike. The health minister explained the objectives of bringing NMC Bill 2019 at length and assured us that the apprehensions... will be duly addressed while drafting the regulations by the NMC once it is constituted,” the AIIMS RDA said in the communique.
After a governing body meeting of the RDA AIIMS, the executive committee decided to withdraw the strike and resume all services with immediate effect.