Junior doctors of all the nine medical college and hospitals of Bihar went on an indefinite strike from Wednesday morning to press their charter of demands, the main being enhancement of stipend. Except the Corona Virus wards the junior doctors have ceased work in all the wards in all the medical college and hospitals.
Though senior doctors are working yet the strike by junior doctors has paralysed the functioning everywhere. In the state capital’s Patna Medical College and Hospital and Nalanda Medical College and Hospital—the latter is also working as corona special health hub—patients are facing utmost hardship.
In OPD wards the patients came to know about the strike on Wednesday morning only when they reached the hospitals.
Reports of strike have also come from Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital; Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, Muzaffarpur; Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital, Gaya; Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur etc.
There have been numerous protests by medicos and nursing staff across Bihar since the early day of the fight against Corona virus.
According to striking doctors the government had assured them in 2017 that their stipend will be revised every three years. However, they alleged that after completion of the said period early this year the issue is still lingering despite getting repeated assurances from health department.
On the condition of anonymity one of the junior doctors told this correspondent that they are running from pillar to post to get their stipend revised. “With the limited resources at our disposal we gave our best in the fight against corona virus however, we are struggling to get our due,” he said.
Given the abysmally low doctor-patient ratio–according to 2015 central ministry report one doctor in Bihar serves 28,390 people–at many departments of state medical colleges junior doctors and even interns are running the show.
Sources revealed that a few months back PMCH interns also wrote to health department to raise their stipend which according to them stands lowest. The interns of state medical colleges are getting 15,000 while those studying in central colleges get 23,000 as stipends.
