Give us meeting minutes or we’d strike: Himachal medical officers

Shimla, February 18

The Himachal Medial Officers’ Association (HMOA) will start a pen-down strike from 9.30 am till noon from February 20 across all health facilities if they are not provided the minutes of its meeting with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, held on February 13.

As per HMOA, the doctors will be available only for emergency services during this period. The decision was taken at the meeting of HMOA on Saturday evening, which was attended by members of the state executive, representatives of the association from all districts, representatives of all civil hospitals. The representatives of resident doctor associations also participated in the meeting.

The HMOA alleged that the committees formed by the Chief Minister during the meeting to look into the demands of the doctors had not started working yet.

Talking about their issues, the HMOA claimed that the Departmental Promotional Committee has been unable to promote Block Medical Officers for the last one and half year. “The committee is looking for the ACRs of the doctors who have either passed away or have left the job,” the HMOA said in a press release. The association added that a committee had been formed to prepare the seniority list of doctors in 2016 but it had not been prepared in eight years. The association claimed that the CM had assured them of returning the charge of Project Director, AIDS Control Society, back to Directorate of Health Services, but the assurance has not been fulfilled.

The association alleged that several primary health centres were without a doctor and several CHCs were facing shortage of doctors.