Thousands of government physicians in Haryana went on indefinite strike on Thursday, disrupting services at state-run hospitals, with huge lines at OPDs and patients saying they were being handled by interns or retired doctors.
The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association, which represents government doctors in the state, has called the strike to protest the non-fulfilment of their many demands. In an effort to address the situation, government authorities are meeting with the doctors’ organization here.
The talks started in the afternoon. The doctors’ requests include the establishment of a specialist cadre and a career advancement system that assures parity with their central government counterparts. As a form of protest, the association demanded that health services in government hospitals be shut down. A day before the strike call, the state administration requested the doctors’ group to examine the strike’s impact on patients.
Doctors from several government health institutes have gone on indefinite strike across the state,” association president Dr Rajesh Khyalia stated. He stated that the institutions comprise civic hospitals, sub-district hospitals, community and primary health centers. Khyalia stated that OPD, emergency, and post-mortem examinations had all been disrupted. Before the strike began, it was believed that nearly 3,000 doctors across the state would participate.”
On Wednesday, four association members, including Khyalia, began an indefinite hunger strike in front of the Health Services Director General’s office in Panchkula. Other demands from doctors include no direct recruitment of senior medical officials and a reduction in the bond payment for postgraduate studies. Khyalia responded to the government’s request for talks on Thursday, saying: “We will attend the meeting, but if there is no outcome, our strike will continue indefinitely.”
We have received repeated guarantees about our many demands over the last few months, but they have yet to be met. So we’ve decided to shut down all health services, including OPD, emergency, and post-mortem, starting Thursday,” Khyalia said on Wednesday. According to the association, doctors must pay two Rs 1 crore bonds apiece for admission to postgraduate courses. It necessitates that the amount be significantly lowered. The group has stated that direct recruitment of senior medical officers will stymie the advancement of hundreds of medical officers who have served for 20 years and are seeking promotion to a higher position.