Safdarjung op theatres remain shut

 Around 40 operation theatres at Safdarjung Hospital were shut on Monday as OT technicians went on strike. The surgeries scheduled for the day have been postponed even though some emergency surgeries were conducted.

The technicians struck work demanding action against a doctor who allegedly manhandled a technician in the ENT (ear, nose & throat) department on Friday.
“There was an altercation between the doctors and the OT technicians while shifting a patient out of the operation theatre. Following this, one doctor manhandled an OT staff. The workers decided to go on strike after this,” said a senior doctor, requesting anonymity.

An internal committee comprising five members has been set up to probe into the incident. Almost 50 workers went on strike paralysing scheduled operations for the day.

There was deadlock between doctors and the technical staff as they refused to attend work.

“While doctors claimed that the workers misbehaved with them first, the technical staff claimed otherwise. It is difficult to ascertain right now how the altercation started. We are looking into the matter,” said Dr Rajpal, Medical Superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital.

The authorities have sorted the issue out with the OT staff. “We have spoken to them and they will join back work on Tuesday. A few even returned to work on Monday afternoon. Action will be taken against whoever is found guilty,” he added.

With the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital handling major patient load from around the city and adjoining states, patients were severely hit with the surgeries being postponed across all the departments.

The technical staff operate under the anaesthesia wing of the hospital.
On Monday, the emergency surgeries were handled with limited doctors and staff.
“The administration has decided to scale up the number of surgeries conducted throughout the week to clear the backlog. The OTs will also function this Sunday to accommodate the scheduled surgeries,” said a senior administrative staff.