NEW DELHI: Resident doctors of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital went on an indefinite strike on Monday morning but left the emergency services operational after a patient was shot dead while a doctor was treating him.
A 32-year-old man was shot dead by a teenager inside a ward on Sunday in front of doctors and his relatives.
Barring emergency, all other services including elective surgeries remained disrupted. The protesters raised slogans, demanding improvement in the security situation.
The medical professionals at the hospital were attending to only emergency patients, while the outpatient department, laboratories and other departments remained closed, a member of the RDA said. A member said, “We are arranging everything for the association so we can stay on strike until our voices are heard.”
The protesters claimed that although the administration agreed to their demands last time, no training was provided to the security personnel, and security arrangements have not been enhanced yet.
The strike was announced on Sunday after their long-pending demand of giving doctors ample security allegedly went unheeded by the government.
Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj assured the medical community that implementation of security measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of the workers. He assured installation of metal detectors at the emergency entries, deployment of two armed guards, assignment of one police constable on duty round the clock; review of the SoPs of the hospitals, strict legal action against assaulters in accordance with existing laws and installation of CCTV cameras.
A delegation of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) met Bharadwaj to raise recent security concerns at the hospital which forced around 5,000 staff members including resident doctors, nursing officers and others to go on a strike.
President of the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the hospital, Dr Rajat Sharma, said they need concrete steps rather than assurances from the administration.