1500 AIIMS resident doctors on strike after colleague slapped by senior Professor
New Delhi: Around 1500 resident doctors associated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi have declared an indefinite strike after one of their colleagues was allegedly assaulted by a senior doctor.
As a mark of protest, the doctors yesterday worked wearing helmets. They also sought a written apology from the senior doctor concerned.
In a letter to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, the RDA alleged that the senior doctor slapped a senior resident in front of attendees, nursing staff and colleagues, and that the resident doctor was under depression and had gone home.
The RDA said an atmosphere of fear existed in the department headed by the senior doctor, and that nobody protested as the chief threatened to fail the junior doctors.
The resident doctors also raised the reported misbehavior of the senior doctor towards the female residents.
"Dear Director sir, we talk about violence against doctors by relatives of patients, but this act has caused great anguish among residents and shattered the sacred student-teacher relationship," read the letter.
"We expect an immediate and strong action from your side so that a message goes out that doctors are not here to be beaten," it said.
"On 25th April, an incident was reported wherein a faculty member had slapped a resident doctor in the AIIMS hospital. The faculty member apologized to the resident immediately," the statement said, adding the resident doctor had accepted the apology.
The AIIMS director had also instituted a five-member committee to be chaired by the Dean-Research to enquire into the incident.
However, the strike was called by the Resident Doctors Association yesterday evening, following which the medical services at the premier institute were affected.
AIIMS Places Contingency plan
In the wake of the strike, the hospital has instituted contingency measures to take care of the admitted patients, including those in the ICUs and wards, and includes the following
- OPD services will function on a restricted basis w.e.f. 27.04.2018 till such time that normalcy is restored. Only follow-up patients with prior appointment will be registered in OPD. New Patients OPD registration will be done as per availability of Faculty in respective OPD as decided by Head of Concerned Dept/Unit. No walk-in registration (new & old) will be done.
- Routine OT services will remain suspended w.e.f. 27.04.2018. Only emergency cases will be taken up for surgical operations.
- Diagnostic services will function on a restricted basis as maximum possible for the faculty
- Head(s) of all clinical departments will make arrangements for round the clock availability of doctors of concerned specialty either from research staff or by the faculty members. Under no circumstances, any inpatient ward will function without the physical availability of doctors of concerned speciality.
- Labour room & Maternity OT will be managed by the faculty of Obs & Gynae as per duty roster decided by the Head of Department.
The director has appealed the RDA to call off the strike in the interest of patient care.
