A day after Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel warned striking doctors to initiate “stern action” against them if they continue with the strike, the deans of government medical colleges in Jamnagar and Vadodara began crackdown on striking doctors by curtailing access to their hostels. Did it Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, while addressing media persons on the sidelines of an event in Surat, reiterated that the demand of bonded doctors is “not valid”.
Rupani said, ‘Yesterday Deputy CM made it clear that it is not so. COVID-19There are no cases in hospitals, no doctors (Covid-19) are on duty, so the demand for not executing the bond is not justified.”
Around 2,000 resident doctors of six government medical colleges in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar have been on strike since August 4, with their primary demand being that the mandatory medical bond duty be considered in the ratio of 1:2. One day’s service to be treated as two days’ service, as implemented by the state government during COVID-19, but was canceled on July 31. Interns and junior resident doctors have also joined the protest.
However, at the BJ Medical College affiliated to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, the Gujarat Medical Teachers Association, headquartered at BJMC, extended its support to the striking doctors. Addressing the Junior Doctors Association of BJ Medical College, the communication notes, “We are of the firm view that your demands are very true and just… At the ultimate risk of self-death during service, the junior doctors exemplified “service before self”. Bravery has been demonstrated, this valor is unparalleled and cannot be questioned… For the sake of self-respect, we your just and fair movement. “
Baroda Medical College management on Friday issued notices to the striking doctors to vacate their rooms with immediate effect after nearly 600 junior doctors and interns at Vadodara’s SSG Hospital went on a complete strike.
In Jamnagar, the MP Shah Government Medical College on Friday served notices to striking doctors to negotiate with the government or vacate their hostel rooms, while doctors said the power supply to their rooms had been cut off.
The office of Dr Nandini Desai, Dean of MP Shah Medical College, posted notices on the doors of the hostel rooms of 80 bonded doctors working in Guru Gobind Singh General Hospital on Friday afternoon asking them to end the strike or vacate the hostel.
“As per the telephonic instructions received from the Head Office, the Post Graduate Residents (PG) and Interns of this College as well as the Bonded Doctors of Group-A who are on strike are asked to vacate the PG Hostels and Interns Hostels, “Notice has been issued. Read by the Dean’s Office.
“They have been asked to put on their strike or they will have to vacate the hostel. This is just a preliminary instruction given to them. Talks are going on at all levels and we are trying to convince them and we are advising them and we are also contacting higher officials. Indian ExpressAlso, the notice will be revoked once talks start between the striking doctors and the government.
The junior resident doctors are on strike, barring emergency duty, to pressurize the authorities to meet the long-pending demands. However, on Friday, the doctors also decided to stop attending to the emergency as the standoff was not over. The resident doctors are demanding implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and also promising to consider one day of COVID-19 duty equivalent to two days of regular duty by the government during their bond period. The doctors have also demanded regular appointment in the hospital after the bond period instead of being given rural posting. The residents have claimed that the government has not considered any of their demands and has even gone back on its promise to treat their COVID-19 duties as regular duty for two days.
On Friday, Dr Tanuja Javadekar, Dean, Baroda Medical College issued notices to 450 junior residents and 150 interns to vacate the hostel rooms with immediate effect. The notice was pasted in the hostel premises and the management said that it has decided to initiate strict disciplinary action against doctors who turn their backs on even emergency duties.
“We have issued notices to junior resident doctors and interns to vacate their hostel rooms with immediate effect as part of disciplinary action,” Javadekar said. We have shifted paramedical and other clinical staff for duty at SSG Hospital as the strike has affected the work in the hospital. With regard to his rural posting, he has not been assigned yet and we can always discuss the issue with those who have already served in rural posting. The decision to ask them to vacate the hostel rooms has been conveyed by the senior health department in Gandhinagar and they will have to vacate their rooms. ”
As per the existing rules, a doctor has to submit a bond of Rs 10 lakh and an undertaking at the time of enrollment for the masters course that he will work in government hospitals in rural areas for three years after obtaining his masters degree. Those who did not want to serve in government hospitals for three years had to pay Rs 10 lakh to the government.
However, due to the ongoing pandemic pandemicThe state government had on April 12 this year offered to reduce the bond period to one year to these doctors, while raising the bond price to Rs 40 lakh.
However, on July 31, the government changed the bond conditions of doctors serving in Jamnagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Surat medical colleges and removed the provision of treating COVID-19 duty as double duty and instead posted doctors in peripheral hospitals. . Major Hospitals of the District Headquarters.
“We made a representation three days back to Health Commissioner Dr Jayaprakash Shivhare, stating that we were not being treated fairly as we agreed to sing the high-priced bond only a few months back on the suggestion of the government. Because we were promised that there would be a day of Kovid. -19 Duty will be treated as bond period of two days. But now the government has gone back on its assurance, even though we have not come out of the pandemic.”
“The fact that the government is threatening us to initiate action against us under the Epidemic Diseases Act is proof that we are still battling the pandemic. If we do not want to serve the term of the bond, then doctors in Jamnagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Surat will have to pay Rs 40 lakh,” a bonded resident doctor from Jamnagar told The Indian Express, referring to doctors in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Adding the bond amount for Rs.10 lakh remains only.
The dean said that the striking doctors have been given two options. “The government has invited them for talks and the process is on. They are given two options – either they hold on to their strike till they approach the government or they withdraw their strike and the government will consider their demands.
A doctor sitting on strike said, “The college administration is under pressure as we have come to know that a minister is visiting GG Hospital tomorrow. This is the reason why they have cut off the power supply to the rooms of some of the striking doctors.”
The doctor said the striking doctors were not against serving in peripheral hospitals. “But 1:2 time must be calculated here,” said the doctor.
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