PMCH junior doctors resume indefinite strike, services crippled

Patna, Jun 17 (UNI) Health services in the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) were disrupted once again after the agitating junior doctors resumed their indefinite strike from last night after a gap of 72 hours.

The junior doctors of the referral hospital went on a wild cat strike on June 5 demanding immediate withdrawal of suspension order for eleven of their colleagues who were charged with assaulting the relatives of some patients and three camerapersons on June 3 at the hospital campus here.

As a result of the week-long strike, health services in all departments had almost come to a halt causing immense sufferings to large number of patients.

However, in a bid to reach an amicable solution to end the fiasco the agitating doctors suspendend their strike for three days from June 14 before resuming it once again from last night.

Though the emergecy department was run by senior doctors during the strike period, total boycott of services by their junior colleagues had led to severe inconveniences in providing rapid treatment to the serious patients, newly appointed hospital superintendent Dr O P Choudhury said.

Describing the strike as ''unjustified and illegal'', Dr Choudhury reiterated his appeal to the striking medicos to end their indefinite strike and resume work at the earliest as a 'humane gesture'.

He, however, refused to budge from his earlier stand and did not revoke the suspension order for the guilty doctors. Even the state government had also made it clear that the FIR-named doctors should not be allowed to go scot free for their alleged 'lumpen-like behaviour'.

Incidentally, when a team of junior doctors desired to meet Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sort out the alleged differences, he refused to see them until the strike was withdrawn unconditionally.

The eleven junior doctors at the state's premier hospital have been charged with assaulting the lensmen and some patients' relatives without any provocation leading to statewide demand for stern action against them.

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