Delhi: Hindu Rao doctors, nurses to abstain from work from today

NEW DELHI: Unpaid for three months, doctors and nurses of Hindu Rao Hospital, which is currently a Covid facility, will abstain from performing their duties from Sunday onwards. Despite the mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation giving an assurance to the resident doctors that they would find a solution for payment of pending salaries, the doctors’ union on Saturday decided to go ahead with their protest plan.
On Saturday, 20 Covid patients admitted in the hospital were shifted to Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Hospital (17) and Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital (3).
“The mayor came to meet us but gave only verbal assurances. We had even written to the lieutenant governor on Friday for his kind intervention regarding the corporation’s persistent inability to pay salaries of healthcare workers. They are working hard in the pandemic and need salaries to manage their expenses. We demanded regularisation of payment and immediate disbursement of pending salaries but there was no reply from the other side,” said Dr Abhimanyu Sardana, president of Resident Doctors’ Association, Hindu Rao Hospital.
“Around 40 doctors were engaged to look after patients in the Covid ward and from Sunday, we all will abstain from work,” he added.
Meanwhile, the civic agency aims to resume the normal operations at the hospital from next week. “Now that Covid patients have been shifted, the hospital will be sanitised on Sunday and the OPD services of all departments will most likely resume from Monday,” said an official.
Mayor of the north corporation, Jai Prakash, said, “We have received nod from the district disaster management committee for converting Hindu Rao back to a non-Covid hospital. We are only waiting for a formal letter from the committee.”
Prakash also accused Delhi government of playing politics over Hindu Rao Hospital. “Ever since the hospital has been converted into a Covid-19 facility, Delhi government has not given a single penny for operation. It wants to create an atmosphere of anarchy by not giving funds so that they can take advantage of it in the upcoming corporation elections.”
In a press conference, health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said the municipal corporation should hand over its hospitals to Delhi government if it was unable to run them.
“The doctors and the medical staff of Hindu Rao Hospital have given a notice of strike. There are Covid patients admitted in the hospital and we have directed the authorities to shift them to Delhi government hospitals. I want to request the corporation to pay salaries to its staff as soon as possible. If the north corporation cannot pay the salaries of staff of Kasturba Gandhi and Hindu Rao, it can place these hospitals under Delhi government. We will run these hospitals better than them and will also release the salaries of the staff,” Jain added.
“BJP is playing politics at the cost of the health of people. I do not think they are short on funds. They impose heavy taxes on people and collect hefty money, but nobody knows where all that money goes. Their job is to play blame game,” he added.