Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 31: The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) called off the strike on Friday after protesting for about a month over delays in NEET-PG counselling and withdrawing from emergency services for two weeks. The doctors’ body said in a statement that emergency services in hospitals will resume by noon.
The protesting doctors claimed that during a meeting with Union Health Ministry representatives, they were assured that the government would submit a committee report to the Supreme Court by January 6 and would publish the NEET-PG 2021 counseling schedule following a court hearing on that date.
“On December 30, a series of meetings of FORDA representatives was held with multiple Delhi police officials. They also assured that the FIR that was lodged against resident doctors will be taken care of as per legal procedures,” the FORDA said.
The association also claimed that the Union Ministry of Health regretted the police violence against protesting doctors on December 27. Residents in the Capital have been protesting the issue, initially boycotting work in the out patient department and gradually withdrawing all services, including routine and emergency care.
According to the FORDA, the agitation was suspended on December 9 after protesting doctors were assured that the counselling schedule would be released within a week, but when that did not happen, they resumed their strike on December 17.
The strike has affected hospitals such as Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lady Hardinge Hospital, Lok Nayak Hospital, and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
Notably since November 27, the RDAs across the country have been protesting against the multiple postponements of the NEET PG Counselling 2021 and the subsequent admission of the fresh batch of resident doctors in the medical colleges.