Cuttack: About 250 house surgeons working in SCB Medical College and Hospital here called for an indefinite cease work from Wednesday, demanding action against the nursing staff who allegedly ill-treated them. Hospital superintendent Sudhansu Sekhar Mishra, however, is hopeful that the matter will be resolved amicably. Mishra said that the massive workload and shortage of staff could be the reasons behind the recent faceoff between the house surgeons and nursing staff. The confrontation between the house surgeons and nursing staff began Monday night over an argument between a doctor and a nursing officer while attending to a patient in the hospital’s medicine department. Soon, other doctors and nurses joined the melee, and what appeared to be a minor issue initially, was blown out of proportion Tuesday morning when reports of the incident appeared in various local newspapers. Claiming that the nursing staff were spreading lies and damaging the reputation of the hospital and doctors in the media, the house surgeons protested in front of the office of the hospital superintendent. They demanded that the nursing association should apologise and refrain from giving false statements to the media.
Opposing this move of the House surgeons, the nursing staff also staged a protest. When the matter was further precipitated during a meeting with the hospital committee set up to resolve the imbroglio, the house surgeons announced a cease work stir from Wednesday morning. “We will provide emergency services only and boycott the general duties,” Bibhas Kumar, secretary of the house surgeons, said.