Hyd doctors resume strike at OGH as state fails to meet deadline on increasing security

Doctors are demanding CCTV cameras and an 'emergency alarm' button, to call for security.
Hyd doctors resume strike at OGH as state fails to meet deadline on increasing security
Hyd doctors resume strike at OGH as state fails to meet deadline on increasing security
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Junior doctors at Hyderabad's Osmania Government Hospital (OGH) resumed their ongoing strike on Thursday, after the Telangana government failed to meet its deadline, to increase security for the medicos.

Under the banner of Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA), doctors boycotted their duties in protest, and asked the state government to immediately meet their demands.

The strike had been postponed last week, after representatives of the striking doctors met with the Director of Medical Education (DME).

The junior doctors were irked that the state government had met none of its promises, and did not even step up security at the premises of the OGH. 

They had earlier gone on an indefinite strike, after four attendants of a woman patient, who died during treatment, assaulted two junior doctors at OGH.

Nearly 250 junior doctors, including house surgeons, boycotted their duties except emergency services, demanding action against those involved in the attack and measures to beef up their security.

The strike caused severe inconvenience to patients in one of the oldest hospitals in the country, and paralysed services in outpatient blocks.

The junior doctors lodged a complaint with Afzalgunj police station demanding the arrest of the accused under non-bailable sections.

Doctors are now demanding CCTV cameras across the hospital and an 'emergency alarm' button that the medicos could press, to call for security.

They're also asking for 18 armed Special Protection Forces (SPF) personnel to be present at nine sensitive areas of the hospital premises.

As the strike resumed, the duty resident medical officer (RMO) claimed that the process to step up security has already been initiated. 

“We have surveyed all the sensitive areas and have proposed to increase the cover from six SPF personnel in each of these spots to 12 SPF personnel. A representation to the concerned commandant of SPF has been made and the report has been tabled before the state government. The proposal is now awaiting financial approval from the state government,“ OGH RMO Mohammed Rafi told the Times of India.

IANS inputs

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