SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Nov 12: Beleaguered senior residents of Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH) Dhanbad has been left in the lurch as neither local management nor doctors’ body of state has come to their support for payment of five months due honorarium.
Notably, neither the Indian Medical Association (IMA) nor the Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA), the frontal organisation of government doctors, have taken cognizance of their plight (agitation) so far.
IMA state president Dr AK Singh and secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh when contacted in Dhanbad and Ranchi respectively said that they have no information about the agitation of doctors at SNMMCH. They (senior residents) have not been informed about it so far.
“When we have no knowledge of the reason behind agitation, how and with whom we would talk for the solution of the problem?”, they said.
IMA state senior officials pointed out that senior residents even did not inform the local chapter of IMA to rake up the issue. JHSA too has overlooked the plight of medical college doctors. The newly elected general secretary Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh could not be contacted due to technical reasons.
Senior residents have been on pen down strike since November 2 but even after 10 days of stir, neither the health department has released the allotment nor the hospital management has thrashed out any solution to bail out these penniless doctors (senior residents) who are considered the backbone of faculty starved hospital wards.
Most of these senior residents are completing their three years service bond of the health department (compulsory service after a post-graduate course from the medical college of state) and have not been paid their honorarium despite written information to the superintendent of the hospital and additional chief secretary of health of the state.
However, the Junior Doctors Association (JDA) of Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) Ranchi has of course expressed solidarity with the agitation of SNMMCH senior residents but JDA president Dr Vikash Kumar has no strength like the first president of JDA Dr Ajit Kumar had to shake health department for the cause of doctors.
In 2014, a similar situation appeared for senior residents of the then Patliputra Medical College Hospital (now SNMMCH) Dhanbad. IMA state president took suo motu cognizance of the strike and initiated a move at a personal level to sort out the crisis. He personally talked with the then health minister Rajendra Prasad Singh and principal health secretary K Vidyasagar and ensured payment.
However, though senior residents have announced a pen-down strike on paper, they are helping their seniors by holding classes and sharing patients’ loads. Senior resident spokesperson Dr Abhishek Singh said that owing to a critical situation they have deferred the emergency service boycott call.
