Govt doctors in Haryana go on strike for second time in a week, OPD services hit

Chandigarh: Government doctors in Haryana went on a strike on Friday to press their demands for formation of a specialist cadre and a reduction in the bond amount for postgraduate courses, impacting outpatient department (OPD) services in some hospitals.

This is the second time this week that government doctors in the state have gone on a strike. They first went on a strike on Wednesday.

They resumed emergency duties after they were assured that a meeting will be arranged between the health minister and representatives of the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMS), a body representing government doctors in Haryana which is leading the protest.

The HCMS had on Wednesday said that doctors would go on an indefinite strike from Friday with a complete shutdown of all services if the government did not accept their demands.

Among the doctors' demands are formation of a specialist cadre for doctors, reduction in the bond amount for postgraduate courses and a dynamic assured career progression scheme at par with central government doctors.

Dr Anil Yadav, general secretary, HCMS said OPD services remained suspended in government health institutions on Friday while emergency services functioned as usual.

"In view of the assurance of a meeting with the government pertaining to our demands and keeping in view the larger public interest, we did not proceed with a complete shutdown of services and emergency services are being attended to."

"However, OPDs and elective surgeries remain suspended. The next course of action will depend on the outcome of the talks with the government," he said.

Yadav said the doctors' demands are not new.

"We were given an assurance by the health minister earlier too but our demands were not met," he said.

On Wednesday evening, Director General of Health Services R S Punia had held a video conference with all state civil surgeons, giving necessary instructions to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services.