Maharashtra doctors vow to intensify strike

[Angel]

NDTV Correspondent
Sunday, March 5, 2006 (Mumbai)

The impasse between the government and the doctors in Maharashtra seems nowhere near a solution, with the doctors saying they are determined to continue their strike.

The stand comes even after 350 doctors of the Brihanamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hospitals were issued termination notices by health authorities.

Hundreds of doctors staged a protest in Mumbai's Azad Maidan on saturday.

The doctors had launched their indefinite strike on February 27, demanding adequate security against attacks by patients' relatives and an increase in their stipends.

The worst hit by the strike are thousands of patients in civic hospitals across the state, who are not getting the required treatment on time.

The problem is more acute in the rural areas, where resident doctors form the backbone of the public healthcare system and private treatment is out of the reach for most people.

[Oak]

I vote for "aggresive patient relatives"

[de.malady]

such rediculous incidents can always happn in country like -india-, -nepal- where peopl care less aboutheir
self respect & dignity & peopl in power holds power for everyt'ng..
i vote for -influential patient's family..

[Sarensa]

I too vote for aggresive patients relatives.

[Angel]

BMC to "counsel" parents of striking medicos




Mumbai: Even as the strike by Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) entered the seventh day on Sunday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to hold talks with parents and professors of the striking medicos in a bid to resolve the deadlock.

BMC spokesperson Dadasaheb Shivjatak said the Corporation had called parents and professors of the doctors for counselling.

He said all the OP Departments, which were closed following the strike, would be reopened from Monday with the help of private doctors and public health department doctors.

Mr. Shivjatak said the administration was always willing to hold dialogue with the striking doctors.

MARD spokesperson Dr.Yashodhan Deshpande said: "We appeal to the Government to resolve the issue as early as possible for the sake of public as well as for the future of the doctors."

He, however, said the strike would continue till they received a written assurance from the Government on their demands.

Earlier in the day, MARD spokesperson at J J Hospital, Dr. Yoganand Patil said they had received letters of support from doctors in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Kerala. "We are planning to launch a nation-wide agitation after consulting representatives from other states," he said.

The State Government and BMC have served termination notices on 730 doctors across the state, Dr. Patil informed. The BMC has issued 348 notices while the State Government had issued notices to 270 resident doctors at J J Hospital and 310 resident doctors at Sassoon Hospital in Pune.

Dr. Patil said doctors in Delhi had started working wearing "black badges" to express their solidarity.

He claimed that State Higher Education Minister Dilip Valse-Patil had verbally consented to their demands, "but we want it in writing because since 1988, we have been getting only verbal assurances from the Government."

Once we get a written assurance, we will call off the strike, he added.
The doctors went on strike Monday last after relatives of some patients beat up two doctors at the KEM and Bhabha (Bandra) hospitals on the previous day. — UNI

[Rajiv]

Well, I could not totally agree with any of the options. Such things are case dependent. I do not believe that all aggressive patient are fond of attacking the hospital or its Staff. I think it is due to lack on awareness of what actually a medical treatment is. Most of the people in our society think that doctors are enchanting Robots, which cure patients. For them it is indifferent how a patient is cured and what criticles situation these "robots" went through. They must learn that a patient is not a broken machine, that can be turned off while repairing. And unlike in case of machine, human body is still being vastly studied. Despite great developements in different fields of medicine, it seems like physicians know very little. It's on hand of patients if they want to try out this "little knowledge" or not at all. It is actually job of Health informtion and awareness Bureau to let ppl know that, what these poor physicians are doing by all there means is not comparable with any other job. Which Surgeon would be glad to have an unsuccessful OP in its account ?

Moreover, our society plays a great role in such undwanted attacks. I still remember the "Hrithik Kanda" and many other demonstration. People demonstrated against a irreal statement. Public followed the croud and did the same, but know no truth. That all took four lives in valley, among them 2 children. Nepalese indians were looted and beaten. Nepalese from southern regions (madhes) were treated badly. And an unknown number of nepalese in india were killed by aggressive indians. In fact, first victims of all such cases, which are based on lie, unawareness of fact or even a war, are the innocents as also revealed by last article.

The worst hit by the strike are thousands of patients in civic hospitals across the state, who are not getting the required treatment on time.

But also hospital has some responsibilities like, Patient and his gardian(responsible one) must be informed about therapy process and its risk before any therapy/Op. In case of a risky attemp, patient et al must be given enough time to think upon. So that the pre-op agreement ".... operation in my own Risk..." is really understood and taken seriously.
So I would say "awareness and knowledge" must be given to avoid such things.

[JNUS]

i think its because of Improper communication by doc and aggressive , Influential patient's family and relative.

[mew3]

i voted for incompetent docs. if docs ve good communicative skills n explain evrything to their patients n family, n of course, with reasonable skills n knowledge, i m sure these ugly scenes cn b reduced. i rmbr once, my aunty who juz delivered her bby(my cousin), the doc cnt really explain to her wut was actually wrong with her whn she had chronic pain in her abdomen even aftr some months of the delivery(caesarean)... later, whn she checked with another doc(gynae specialist), she found uncertain obj in her body... may b it was dued to carelessness but it's stil has somethng to do with docs. carelessness o wut, patients ll for sure put the blame on docs for this. they nvr think of perhaps there r othr factors whc create such mess, cz patients deal directly with docs. moreover, the doc doesnt bother to apologise.

[RAAZ]

Such incidents are common in our hospitals in Nepal too.