News Analysis India

Tag: Madhya Pradesh Doctors

  • Madhya Pradesh: Striking doctors of six government medical colleges return to work after eight days

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Around 3000 junior doctors – considered to be the backbone of hospitals – of six government medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh ended their eight-day-old strike on Monday. The strike was ended by the doctors after another round of talks with the state’s medical education minister Vishvas Sarang, where the state government accepted all their major demands.

    The accepted demands, included 17 per cent raise in stipend, rendering distinctive numbers to the medicos for their services in handling the COVID pandemic (so that they get weightage for it in future employment in government sector), free treatment to them and kin at hospitals in case of being infected with COVID and establishing police outposts in all medical colleges.

    “The minister has also assured us about constituting a committee which will decide on our demand to raise the stipend by 24 per cent and also assured to link the stipend with the Consumer Price Index (CPI),” the junior doctors state body president Dr Arvind Meena told The New Indian Express.

    The strike started on May 31 by junior doctors of government medical colleges in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Sagar and Rewa was subsequently ended at 2 pm on Monday.

    The government also assured the striking junior doctors of reversing the action initiated against them, including cancellation of registration of 468 PG Final Year students by the MP Medical Science University, Jabalpur.

    Importantly, on Thursday,  the MP High Court in Jabalpur had declared the junior doctors strike illegal and directed them to resume duties within 24 hours, failing which the state government was directed by the HC to act against the junior doctors.

    Subsequently, the MP Medical Science University in Jabalpur had cancelled the registration of 468 PG students in the government medical colleges of the state, which will make them ineligible of taking their final exams.

    Also, the Dean of Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal got 28 striking junior doctors to vacate their hostels. 

  • MP: Junior doctors go on strike over lack of treatment for COVID-infected colleagues

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Junior doctors at six government hospitals in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday went on an indefinite strike for their demands including better treatment facilities for their colleagues who contract coronavirus infection.

    The junior doctors who serve in COVID-19 wards are not part of the strike but they too would join in if demands are not met, their association warned.

    “We are trying our best to resolve the situation and expecting positive results today itself,” Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang told PTI.

    Of around 3,000 junior doctors, 15 to 20 per cent have been deployed to treat coronavirus patients.

    They too will join the agitation if the state government did not give a written assurance to fulfil the demands by evening, MP Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) president Dr Arvind Meena said.

    They did not want to go on strike during the pandemic but had no choice left, he said.

    “For the last six months we have been drawing the state government’s attention to our problems.

    On May 3, we got assurance from minister Vishwas Sarang which has not been fulfilled yet,” he told PTI.

    “Twenty-five per cent of junior doctors have been infected by coronavirus to date.

    We are demanding guarantee of bed allotment for the junior doctors who get infected,” Meena said.

    Besides, latest COVID -19 treatment should be made available to them as the treatment protocol keeps changing every two months due to virus mutation, he added.

    “Most importantly, the state government should provide treatment to junior doctors in the cashless mode. At present we have to incur the expenditure which is reimbursed after submission of bills,” Dr Meena said.

    Another demand of agitating doctors is that their one year’s fee be waived as the academic session could not be held due to the outbreak of coronavirus last year.