The junior doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) struck work and staged a demonstration in front of the institution here on Saturday in protest against the State government not taking steps to get permanent recognition from the Medical Council of India (MCI).
The medicos, who did not attend to out-patients, raised slogans against the State government for its failure to comply with the MCI guidelines even after repeated visits by the MCI inspection teams.
Without MCI recognition they were not in a position to go for jobs or pursue higher studies, they lamented. ''From Monday, along with seniors and parents, we will go on a hunger strike,'' Junior Doctors’ Association president at RIMS B. Sriharsha said.
''Now we are attending to emergency cases on humanitarian grounds. We will refuse to do so if the government remains indifferent to our problem,'' he said, adding it had been an agonising experience for them as they had secured admission with good EAMCET scores amid tough competition. But now their future was bleak without a permanent registration, he added.
It has always been a touch-and-go affair every year for the RIMS which had missed two academic years before getting the green signal from the MCI for admitting students after multiple inspections each year from 2011 to correct deficiencies pointed out by the MCI teams.
Deficiencies
This time, the MCI team had pointed out that the library was short of 200 books against the stipulated 7,000 and the number of X-ray machines was only four as against the stipulated five.
Lack of coordination and dearth of fundshad resulted in delay and cost overrun in construction of a functioning hospital and hostel and other facilities with four contractors changing in between 2007 and 2014.