PGIMS doctors on strike over pay anomalies; patients suffer

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, October 4

Patient-care services at the local PGIMS were badly hit as senior and junior resident doctors as well as house surgeons of the institute continued their strike on Thursday. The doctors had gone on an indefinite strike on Wednesday evening over the issue of pay anomalies.

Healthcare services at the PGIMS OPDs, indoor wards, operation theatres, labour rooms, ICUs, casualty wing, ICUs and Trauma Centre got affected by the strike of the resident doctors.

The PGIMS authorities pressed faculty members and MBBS interns to tide over the crisis situation but a number of patients remained unattended.

The protesting doctors also staged a demonstration on the premises and raised slogans to press for the fulfillment of their demands.

PGIMS Resident Doctors Association (RDA) president Dr Jangveer Grewal and vice-president Dr Gaurav Nandal said they had been denied the benefit of the 7th Pay Commission for the past two years.

“When our salaries were finally fixed in accordance with the 7th Pay Commission, we started getting salaries lesser than what we used to get under the 6th Pay Commission. We brought the matter to the knowledge of the authorities concerned but to no avail. Hence, we were forced to go on strike,” they stated.

Dr Nandal said the Federation of Resident Doctors Associations, United Resident Doctors Association, India, Jan Swasthaya Abhiyan, Haryana, and several other medical associations had supported their stir.

Meanwhile, terming the resident doctors’ strike as “illegal, pre-planned and motivated”, Prof OP Kalra, Vice-Chancellor of University of Health Sciences (UHS), advised the striking doctors to join duty, failing which strict disciplinary action would be taken against them.

“We had heard the grievances of the resident doctors and conveyed their concerns to the state authorities. Still, they went on a strike, and that too without any prior intimation. This will be taken seriously,” he said, adding that the patient-care would not be allowed to suffer at any cost.