Doctors all geared up for indefinite strike

The Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) doctors are all geared up for their indefinite strike from September 9. Since the doctors have announced to go on an indefinite strike, it is expected heathcare services will be hit badly in the the state.

A meeting was held today with the Special Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, and detailed discussions were held on the core issues of the cadre but the meeting failed to reach any conclusion and doctors decided to go ahead with their strike call.

Notably, this was the fourth such meeting in the last two weeks wherein no solution had been arrived at.

Doctors are making every effort so that patients know about the strike in advance and are hence distributing pamphlets mentioning their demands among the patients along with the OPD slips.

“Doctors are prescribing at least two to three weeks of medications to all OPD patients being attended on September 6 and 7, to help them tide over the period of indefinite suspension of services at all government hospitals of the state,” said Dr Akhil Sareen, state president of the PCMS Association.

Doctors were also wrapping up all elective surgeries by September 8, as elective surgeries were likely to be indefinitely suspended from September 9, he added.

The unresolved issues of the doctors include, stalled assured career progressions, release of Sixth Pay Commission (Centre) arrears and security at workplace.

“Government health institutes in the state are grossly understaffed, operating at half the capacity. Besides treating patients, doctors are burdened with other tasks such as VIP and emergency duties, postmorterm and medico-legal cases. There are 4,600 sanctioned posts of doctor in the state, of which 2,800 are lying vacant,” he added.

PCMSA members said till the demands, specifically the ACPs were materialised through the required channels, the call for the indefinite suspension of services would stay as the cadre was prepared for a decisive battle.