The members of the Junior Doctors Association (JDA) at B J Medical College (BJMC) — associated with the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital — who have been demanding a 40 per cent stipend hike for resident doctors and interns, ended their strike late Tuesday after meeting Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who assured them that their demands would be considered.
The day started with the junior doctors vowing to continue with the strike just hours after BJMC Dean Dr Hansa Goswami issued a notice to the JDA on Monday night, calling on the protesters to resume their duties by 9 am on Tuesday.
The resident doctors and interns, however, continued their protest by wearing face masks, seeking a 40 per cent hike in their stipend against the 20 per cent granted by the Gujarat government on August 31.
They are also seeking revision of stipend every three years instead of five.
However, after a meeting with the CM, which ended around 10 pm, JDA vice-president Dr Shashank Ashara said in a statement that the protest has been called off with Patel giving them a fair hearing and assuring them that their issues would be considered.
The state government, too, issued a statement, saying that meeting has led to a peaceful resolution of the protest.
Meanwhile, BJMC Superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi said that 84 senior resident doctors whose term ends this year, had withdrawn from the protest earlier in the day and will join duty on Wednesday morning.
Sources told The Indian Express that before the strike was called off, the state health department had roped in 111 medical staffers and 29 specialist doctors from other hospitals to join duty at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to ensure that services are not impacted. Despite attempts, Principal Secretary (Health) Dhananjay Dwivedi could not be contacted for a comment.The protest had led to disruption in emergency services at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, impacting services at the largest public sector hospital in Gujarat, with the number of surgeries coming down by half since Monday.
Between 9 am and 5 pm on Tuesday, the OPD at the civil hospital saw a footfall of 3,867 patients. While 148 patients were admitted, four women gave birth and 18 surgeries were conducted. Only 40 per cent of the daily average of surgeries were conducted on Tuesday.
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