Amid Delay In NEET PG Counselling, Resident Doctors To Go On Strike From Saturday
The burden on resident doctors is increasing as existing doctors are working 80 hours a week and new doctors are not able to join in.
New Delhi: Resident doctors of FORDA (Federation of Resident Doctors Association) have decided to boycott the OPD services from November 27 in protest against the delay in NEET PG counselling.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association had held a meeting of resident doctors across the country on Thursday and this is where the decision was taken. According to FORDA, about 10,000 resident doctors across the country would go on strike from Saturday by boycotting OPD work. The strike is currently limited to OPD, but the duration is yet to be decided.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), the delay in admission to PG NEET is impacting the morale and performance of residents. Even after the declaration of results in October, counselling has not yet begun due to a pending Supreme Court case, in which the next hearing is scheduled for January 6.
FORDA and the rest of the Resident Association say that this delay is impacting medical students as well as resident doctors and patients. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, resident doctors have been working round-the-clock to treat the impacted, which has put a lot of stress on them. Therefore, they have decided to go on a strike by boycotting OPD services.
In a statement, Dr Manish, President of Federation of Resident Doctors Association, said, "On Thursday, we held a meeting in presence of all other RDAs and came to a conclusion to boycott OPD services till an undecided date and time. This strike is indefinite and would last until concrete measures are taken to address our issues. More than 10,000 resident doctors across the country would protest against the delay in NEET PG Counselling. New doctors, who were supposed to join in May are unable to join till date. A hearing date in January was given in December. We still do not know how many years would it take for new doctors to join us. The burden on resident doctors is increasing as existing doctors are working 80 hours a week and new doctors are not able to join in."
He added, "RDAs now want this issue to be addressed at the earliest and want the Central Government to intervene and find a solution. "For your information, other doctors would still be working in the OPD. However, Junior and Senior Resident Doctors would not be a part of the OPD team until further notice, but would provide support in other parts of the hospitals such as wards and emergency rooms. So far, the strike includes resident doctors from hospitals like RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College."
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