CUTTACK: Divyang patients from Odisha and outside the state have been left in the lurch at the Swami Vivekananda National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR) at Olatpur as patient care in its Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) department remained affected for the second consecutive day on Wednesday due to an indefinite mass leave by the doctors.
The disruption particularly affected patients admitted to the 200-bed hospital and those whose dates for surgery had already been fixed. Many patients and their attendants, who had travelled long distances for treatment, were forced to wait as the hospital struggled to maintain services.
With all nine permanent PMR doctors on leave since Tuesday, PG students have been attending to patients at the outdoor department. Though the SVNIRTAR authorities have deployed PG students to minimise the impact, patients, parents and guardians expressed dissatisfaction over the arrangement.
The doctors began their mass leave protesting the alleged delay in addressing their long-standing demands, including implementation of Dynamic Assured Career Progression on par with other national institutions and an increase in the retirement age from 60 to 65.
Dr Pabitra Sahu of the PMR department said the doctors had first resorted to a symbolic protest by wearing black badges for a week from July 28. Earlier, the joint secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, had sought a month’s time to consider their demands following a video conference with the doctors. However, no concrete steps have been taken so far, Sahu alleged. “This compelled all nine permanent doctors of the PMR department to go on indefinite leave from Tuesday as a symbolic protest,” he said. Efforts to elicit a response from SVNIRTAR Director Patitapaban Mohanty proved futile.