Bihar Government invites Doctors on Strike for Negotiations

Bihar State Health Department invited the striking PMCH doctors for Talks  but urged them to resume their duties.

Principal Secretary (Health) Vyasji has invited the striking PMCH junior doctors for talks so that a solution could be worked out to end their strike, Additional Secretary (Health) R P Ojha told reporters.

Though the state government did not interfere in the functioning of the hospitals, its doors were open for the striking junior doctors for talks so that their legitimate demands could be resolved and the medical facilities at the premier hospital normalised, he said.

Ojha said 75 doctors of the Bihar Health Service from other districts have been asked to report for duty at the PMCH for the time being and senior doctors there directed to attend to patients in the wards in view of the strike. He said it had been noticed that the striking doctors were preventing other medicos from working and that the department might take help of police to ensure adequate medical services and manpower at the hospital.

He said the Principal Secretary (Health) had spoken to the SSP Amrit Raj and requested security arrangements in the hospital. The attendance record of the striking doctors was also being maintained so that action could be taken against them in larger public interest if they failed to report for duty, Ojha said, adding the state government maintained its appeal to them to resume duty.

Two days ago, state Health Minister Ashwani Chaube had described the strike as illegal and threatened to take legal action against the doctors. The main demand of the junior doctors was removal of PMCH superintendent O P Chowdhary as, they said, they were feeling insecure during duty because of his administrative ‘incompetence’.