New Delhi: Resident doctors of the Centre-run RML, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge hospitals boycotted all routine and emergency services from Monday. They are doing so in support of a nationwide protest called by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) against the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling. Amid the protests by the resident doctors, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to stop the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling.
The IMA expressed concern over manpower shortage in the healthcare scenario especially with the impending third wave. Amid the detection of cases of Omicron variant, the body said it is disastrous to note the postponement of NEET PG admission in medical colleges.
“This will be resulting in a shortage of almost two batches of Post Graduates, one appearing for the exam and one batch waiting for admission, resulting in nearly one lakh of the young resident doctors not available to tackle the crises. IMA demands the Government of India to proactively involve in this issue of PG admission and ensure it without further delay – the PG admission should be done on a war footing. It will be too late to tackle the Covid-19 crisis if we postpone the PG admission,” the doctors’ body said.
FORDA had earlier written December 4 a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. It said healthcare institutions across India are running short of an adequate workforce of resident doctors. Also there has been no admission in the current academic year yet.
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“With the possibility of future Covid-19 pandemic wave looming large, the situation will be disastrous for the healthcare sector with its bearing on the country’s population,” FORDA said in the letter.
“There seems to be no initiative or measure taken yet for expediting the (NEET-PG) counselling. Therefore, following discussions with various RDA representatives of Delhi, we have decided to escalate our agitation further and withdraw all services (routine and emergency) in healthcare institutions from Monday,” the letter read.
As the resident doctors boycotted work, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) is learnt to have visited the Safdarjung hospital. He appealed to the resident doctors for calling off the protest, but they refused.
In an intimation to the hospital administration, the RDA of the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital December 4 said resident doctors across India are on a peaceful protest for almost a week now in view of the delay in the NEET-PG counselling and the admission of first-year junior residents to various hospitals.
The RDA had suspended the OPD services from November 27 and the routine services from December 3. “However, we are pained to bring to your notice that we have not received any positive response or concrete action from the Union Ministry of Health and the authorities concerned,” FORDA said. Similar letters have also been written by the RDAs of the Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge (LHMC) hospitals.