Striking doctors threaten to intensify stir over demands

Patients continued to suffer on the second day as the OPD services at the government hospital remained suspended from 8am to 11am as the doctors continued their strike and held a protest in support of their demands.

A large number of patients who had come for treatment had to first wait till 11am and after that there was a long queue for registration, which led to chaos. The doctors apprised the patients about their demands and apologised to them for the inconvenience.

Addressing the media, Kanwarpal Singh Sandhu, president, and Amrinderpal Singh, general secretary of the association, respectively, said several rounds of meetings had been held with the state government but their demands had not been accepted, due to which they were forced to go on strike. They said that apart from the people, the para medical and veterinary associations had also supported their demands.

They have been demanding that the shortage of doctors in all hospitals should be removed, and that notification should be issued on the issue of ACP (timely advancement) and security staff should be deployed for the safety of medical staff in all health institutions.

He said the state government had called a meeting of the state body in Chandigarh on Wednesday, and if their demands were not resolved, then the association would keep the OPD closed for an indefinite period from Thursday.