Emergency services hit at Palamu med college due to doctors strike

DALTONGANJ: As many as 20 doctors of Medinirai Medical College Hospital (MMCH) in Daltonganj went on a strike since Monday morning to demand their remuneration, which has allegedly not been paid for the past five months.
Owing to the strike, the hospital’s emergency services were hit since morning. Dr Sanjay Kumar, who is a senior medical officer at MMCH, said, “The resident doctors have locked the emergency room and we are forced to sit outside. The patients and their attendants are getting quite restive over the shut-down of emergency services.”
However, he said that the high-risk patients are being attended to somehow by the medical officers.
Later in the day, cops from Town police station reached the hospital to pacify the protestors.
When asked, medical superintendent Dr R D Nagesh said, “I am only a part-time superintendent and the government has not provided me the power of drawing and disbursing salaries. Hence, despite the availability of funds I cannot release the doctors’ and other staff members’ remuneration.”
Dr Nagesh added that he has written more than half a dozen letters to the state health department, urging it give him the power of drawing and disbursing the salaries but it was all in vain.