Maharashtra doctors' strike: No written assurance, no resuming work, say docs

Resident doctors protest outside KEM hospital in Parel on Thursday PicsShadab KhanThe Bombay High Court once again rapped the 4500odd striking resident doctors on Thursday directing them to resume work saying that the state government has been told to immediately provide security to them The doctors however are in no mood to relent not until they receive the court order themselves as well as firm assurance and action by the state to put an end to assaults on themThe Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors MARD filed an affidavit in the HC on Thursday saying its members were ready to work and only needed a surety from the government and administration that they would be provided security later in the evening it issued an official request to its members to resume work immediately It now depends on the doctors if they choose to ignore or acquiesce The state meanwhile told the court that it was ready with 1100 armed guards 500 of which would be pressed into service by April 5 with Rs 33 crore sanctioned for this recruitmentA patient waits outside Sion hospital on ThursdayBut in the absence of any assurance in writing including the court order the mass bunk of residents doctors continued entering the fourth day of protest postponing more than 1200 surgeries in KEM Sion Nair and Cooper hospitals The agitation has spread to Delhi as well with more than 20000 resident doctors in 40 hospitals going on mass casual leaveSticking togetherMass bunking will continue until we receive the written court order and the minutes of discussion between the chief minister and the resident doctors and the IMA Only after that we will decide the future course of action said Dr Sagar Mundada chairman of the youth wing of Indian Medical Association IMAChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has declared that resident doctors will be treated like government servants ie in the future if they get hurt on duty all expenses of their treatment as well as the legal issues arising will be borne by the state It has been proposed to set up an apex council with representatives of the government and doctors to discuss thisDue to the manpower crunch senior doctors and nurses are bearing the burden Maharashtra Nursing Council president Ramling Mali said With thousands of resident doctors not working nurses have to provide additional support to help the emergency patients and wards The workload has increased by 60 per cent since the start of the strikeIf sources are to be believed the doctors in a meeting held at KEM hospital decided that if their demands arent met they would submit mass resignationHowever dean of KEM hospital and director of major hospitals Dr Avinash Supe said 105 resident doctors across KEM Sion and Nair hospitals had resumed while dean of JJ hospital Dr TP Lahane said 92 were workingCourt saysAdvocate general Rohit Deo told the bench of chief justice Manjula Chellur and justice Girish Kulkarni that after the deployment of the first 500 guards the rest 600 would be deployed by April 30 for the rest of MaharashtraThe state will also make sure that only two relatives per patient are allowed inside hospitals Doctors must resume work immediately they cant take the judicial process for a ride he addedChief justice Chellur said The doctors should immediately resume work they should not act like trade unions Your profession is sacred imagine the helplessness of patientsNo doctor should be illtreated and no punitive action should be taken against any after she resumes work she added addressing the stateThe court went one step ahead and said a committee needs to be set up of MARD state government and BMC representatives to solve doctors problems Their working conditions are horrible we will be hearing the matter on a fortnightly basis from now on to monitor the situation Only two people should be allowed with a patient from today onwards said chief justice Chellur She kept the matter for hearing on April 6 and made it clear that if the doctors dont resume work they would face action for contempt of court