Chaos in PGI depts, contractual attendants continue strike in Chandigarh

There was chaos in OPDs of the PGI as hospital attendants continued their strike today. They are pressing for payment of arrears as per the “equal work and equal pay” order of the High Court.

Medical Superintendent and Head, Department of Hospital Administration, Vipin Koushal said a contingency plan was in place to deal with the situation at OPDs, Emergency and Advanced Trauma Centre. However, there was chaos in OPDs as most of the regular attendants and other faculty members were shifted to Emergency and the Advanced Trauma Centre to fill the shifts of contract staff. Elective surgeries remained suspended today.

OPDs closed today

Owing to the gazetted holiday for Dasehra on October 12 and next day being Sunday, the OPDs will remain closed for the next two days.

There were limited to no attendants at many OPD rooms. Patients gathered around the doors and kept pushing each other for their turn. Raju, who accompanied his father in the Department of Medicine for a regular checkup, shared, “I have come all the way from Anandpur Sahib. We didn’t know about the strike but could figure out that it was unusual today. I helped doctors in calling patients. It’s definitely taking more time than usual even though nobody is at fault, neither the patients nor the doctors.”

At the Neurology Department OPD, there was a huge crowd outside each room. A woman patient shared, “The blue-uniform staff is not here to call out patients turn by turn. It’s chaos, there is no chance one could hear their names when so many people are crowding outside rooms.”

In the PGI Emergency, while the faculty and regular staff filled in for protesting hospital attendants, there was an added worry. As the kitchen staff and sanitation attendants also stayed off work in support of the Hospital Attendants Union, hygiene and food supply became an issue. As patients were hoarding around a food cart to get “khichdi” around 1 pm, it was clear there was a shortage in food in Emergency.

A PGI statement read, “Despite the challenges amid the strike, the institute managed the continuity of services, with 7,367 patients examined at various OPDs. OPD registrations and patient consultations continued without disruption, and critical areas like the ICU, Emergency and Trauma services remained largely unaffected. The authorities are actively persuading the striking attendants to come to the table for discussions. In continuation of the ongoing strike, all elective surgeries and elective admissions will be suspended.”

The authorities have directed hospitals in Chandigarh, and other states not to refer patients to the PGI during the ongoing strike. “The PGIMER remains fully committed to safeguarding patient welfare and will continue to closely monitor the

situation. A fresh contingency plan will be prepared after evaluating the ongoing situation,” read the statement.

NSS volunteers chip in

NSS volunteers called out patients at the OPDs of senior resident doctors. A DAV College student of BSc Biotechnology, Roshni Nishad, was happy to be helping patients on her first day as NSS volunteer under the ‘Project Saarthi’ launched on the 38th Convocation of the PGI. Another DAV College student, Divyanshu Dhami, said, “Earlier, we were only required to work on the ground floor and guide distressed patients and their attendants to laboratory or departments. Today, I was asked to work in the Neurology Department to manage the patients’ order.”

Two students of MCM DAV College, Sector 36, Charvi and Ridhima explained how the administration called them because of the ‘emergency situation’. Inexperienced yet willing to help, these NSS volunteers did their best.