Junior Resident docs to continue protest, final call on Monday

Amritsar, July 16

While Junior Resident Doctors at Government Medical College were almost ready to end their three-day protest today, the incident wherein members of the Sab Da Bhala Humanity Club barged into the hospital and engaged them in an argument, led them to continue the protest.
The incident thwarted the management’s attempts to find a solution as they had already deployed security personnel at key entry points and had also promised to strengthen the security in near future.
The members of the club, accompanied by supporters of the person accused of manhandling three doctors after his father’s death, were protesting against the hospital for not attending to the patients.
Outsiders alleged that the hospital had discharged few patients without treating them. The hospital authorities stated that they had referred a few patients to other government facilities so as to reduce the workload on its staff.
An argument also took place between the Junior Resident Doctors and an outsiders’ group in front of the hospital management.
The hospital authorities said they had agreed to the demand of increasing security at key points. The hospital has 33 home guard personnel at its disposal. It had also arranged for 11 more home guard jawans.
However, the junior residents complained that the home guard personnel did not stop the outsiders’ group from entering the hospital.
“They openly threatened junior doctors. The home guard jawans did not move even an inch. It has forced us to continue the protest till a more practical solution is found,” said a junior doctor.
The doctors had initiated the protest after a few relatives of a person, who had died during treatment, had thrashed three junior doctors. Later, the main accused was booked for the offence.
Navtej Singh Guggu, a prominent member of the Sab Da Bhala Humanity Club, said, “Now, the doctors are unnecessarily harassing patients as the accused has already been arrested. We are demanding that the protest should be called off immediately.” Guggu had courted a controversy recently by distributing money to the parents of poor children admitted at the hospital.
Hospital’s medical superintendent Ram Sarup Sharma said, “We have held talks with the doctors throughout the day. As per the latest communication from them, they have informed us that they would take the final decision on Monday.”
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