Resident docs at Lok Nayak go on strike after assault on 3 of them

Hospital suspends elective surgeries till further orders, cancels leaves

Resident doctors at Lok Nayak Hospital went on strike from Tuesday afternoon after two first year post graduates and a senior resident were beaten up by the relatives of a patient in Ward 4B of the hospital. By Wednesday morning students and interns too joined the strike.

The hospital faculty association has written to the administration with a list of security related demands.

All leaves for doctors at the hospital have been cancelled and the administration sent out a circular asking heads of department to ensure that OPD and indoor services continue. Elective surgeries too have been suspended.

“Despite working beyond their working hours and despite giving their 100% towards betterment of the Patient doctors are regularly getting harassed at Lok Nayak Hospital…”

“The junior as well as senior residents of LNH have gone on indefinite strike following a scuffle with attendants of a patient. All the HODs are therefore informed to make arrangements to run OPD and indoor services as usual while elective OT services will remain suspended till further orders,” reads the circular signed by medical director Dr J C Passey.

The assault interestingly comes days after the alleged assault on Delhi Chief secretary Anshu Prakash that brought the Delhi government to a virtual standstill, precipitating almost a political crisis. Hours before the assault on the three doctors, the faculty association of LNH and Maulana Azad Medical College wrote to the Lieutenant Governor asking him to ensure the safety of all government servants in the city following the incident with Prakash.

In a statement the Lok Nayak Resident Doctors’ Association said: “Despite working beyond their working hours and despite giving their 100% towards betterment of the Patient doctors are regularly getting harassed at Lok Nayak Hospital and yet no positive steps have been taken by the administration to strengthen the security in our hospital. Hence RDA has called for indefinite strike till further orders.”

Hospital medical director Dr J C Passey did not respond to calls from Medibulletin.

In a letter the faculty association asked for 600 guards for the LNH-MAMC campus, implementation of one bed one patient and one Patient one attendant policies, adequate patient counsel lots and CCTV cameras and designation of the hospital as a referral centre to reduce load.