HP doctors continue pen-down strike as Govt abolishes Non-Practicing Allowance

The members of the TAMCOT, Resident doctors, medical students and other doctors protested against the state government for the decision taken against doctors stopping Non Practising Allowances for those doctors who will be appointed a fresh in the state.

Also Read:Doctors on pen down strike as Himachal Pradesh refuses Non-Practicing Allowance

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that protesting against the abolition of Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) after a meeting with Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil failed to produce any results, doctors under the Himachal Pradesh Medical Officer Association (HPMOA) have decided to observe one hour strike every day for a week starting from Monday.

The doctors have threatened that the strike will go on until the notification to abolish NPA is withdrawn by the government. As promised earlier, the doctors wore black badges on duty in hospitals as an act of protest.

Dr Mukhul Bhatnagar told UNI that the government has passed orders that the new appointees in the medical department as doctors with have no NPA which he described was unfortunate.

He said that it was for the first time after 1971 when the state came into being that such a decision was taken by the government. He said that such a draconian decision has been taken by the government without prior consultation of the medical fraternity. He described the decision as arbitrary and ' Tagaluqi' and needs to be rolled back.

Dr Monika Pathania, Vice President Himachal Pradesh Medical Officers Association, told UNI that the doctors in the state were under working burden as the posts were still vacant so much that during the Medical Council of India inspections, the doctors of the one Medical College were shifted to another new medical college for temporary period so that the medical colleges remain recognized.

She said that this is affecting the working and quality of the medical colleges. She demanded that the filling of the vacant posts in the Medical colleges and stop the practice of shifting doctors from one medical college to another during the inspections of the Medical Council of India.

She claims that the doctors are over burdened and need a succour. The protest against the government for such decisions taken during the last few months which were against the doctors interests. She said that as the government was mute spectator to the issue, they were forced to resort to agitation throughout the state.

The patients in the OPDs in the entire state suffered for one and half hours on the second day when the doctors throughout the state resorted to a pen-down strike from 9.00 am to 10.30 am which was the peak period in the hospitals and medical colleges. The doctors, however, left the regular surgeries and emergency patients out of the strike.

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