Rly doctors take up duty in strike-hit hospitals

New Delhi, May 17: Even as Railway doctors took up duty in some strike-hit government hospitals in the Capital, medical services continued to be affected as resident and junior doctors and medical students' indefinite work boycott entered the fourth day today.

Railway doctors were attending patients in the OPD, Emergency, intensive and trauma units of Ram Manohar Lohia and Safdarjang Hospitals since this morning.

''Two doctors from the railways joined us this morning this morning. They have been diverted to OPD and emergency units,'' RML Medical Superintendent Dr N K Chaturvedi told UNI.

Though parallel OPD units were set up, services in Delhi's five premier government hospitals including AIIMS and LNJP, remained affected and patients had to suffer the consequences.

However, emergency and ICU departments functioned in all the hospitals.

The parallel OPD units were set up in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Safdarjang, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narain and Sucheta Kriplani Hospitals.

Resident and Junior doctors of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ihbas hospitals have also joined the fasting students and doctors of 'Youth for Equality'.

Over 100 students and doctors are on an indefinite hunger strike at AIIMS since May 13 opposing the government proposal.

Since Sunday 30 fasting students have been admitted to AIIMS casualty due to dehydration. All of them have been discharged.

Earlier today, Pro Reservation Front activists confronted the students and doctors at AIIMS. The Front activists were demanding that they also be allowed to hold demonstrations within AIIMS.

However, before the situation could turn ugly police removed the front activists from AIIMS.

''The Pro reservationist had come here with the agenda to incite violence but we resisted and they were removed by police,'' Youth for Equality Spokesperson Sasmit Sarangi said.

Earlier, Minister of state without portfolio Oscar Fernandes visited the striking doctors and students at AIIMS.

He later held an informal meeting with a seven-member delegation of 'Youth for Equality' at Shram Shakti Bhawan.

The delegation submitted a memorandum demanding a roll-back in further increase in OBC quota and that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a non-political judicial committee to review the existing reservation policy.

''We want the Prime Minister or the Government to come out with a concrete response on the reservation issue. The advantages, merits, drawbacks and loopholes of the policy and proposals must be brought out for all to know what is going on,'' Mr Sarangi said.

He said the students were against caste-based reservation and not against any section of the society.

A signature campaign against the reservation proposal was also started at the AIIMS.

UNI

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