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4 days on, OPD services hit in Bathinda hospital amid staff’s protest
Health services at the Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital in Bathinda were paralysed on the fourth day on Monday as the employee unions observed a strike, demanding release of a class IV staffer who was recently caught by the vigilance bureau for allegedly conducting fake raids and blackmailing doctors.
(Slug) Release of employee, arrested by vigilance, sought
Health services at the Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital in Bathinda were paralysed on the fourth day on Monday as the employee unions observed a strike, demanding release of a class IV staffer who was recently caught by the vigilance bureau for allegedly conducting fake raids and blackmailing doctors.
Various wings of the health department have been on strike since July 11. The protesting employees forced the suspension of the outpatient department (OPD) on Monday, inconveniencing the patients. Registration of patients was also hit due to the strike.
An employee, Raj Singh, was arrested along with three others from Patran in Patiala on July 10 on the charges of conducting “fake raids” and “blackmailing” doctors. Four arrested persons from Punjab and Haryana were part of a joint team formed under the joint Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act to expose an alleged racket of illegal gender determination tests.
Raj’s family members staged a dharna outside the civil surgeon’s office, located on the hospital premises.
Doctors had suspended the OPD work on July 12 and 13 to express solidarity with the non-medic staff. The doctors returned to work on Monday but the members of the joint employees’ action committee, comprising workers from different health department wings, opposed the doctors’ decision and caused hindrances in the smooth working in the OPD.
A woman from Talwandi Sabo complained that she visited the hospital to get medicines for her husband who underwent hip replacement surgery, but there was no one to dispense medicines. A senior citizen from the city rued about the suspension of diagnostic services at the hospital. “I required an X-ray of one of my legs as I met with an accident last week. The health service is a key issue and the authorities concerned should ensure that employees do not force its suspension,” he added.
Civil surgeon Dr TS Dhillon said no doctor was on strike but the services were affected due to the protest. “Raj Singh was an official member of a raiding team constituted to follow a tip-off regarding an illegal sex determination test. He was arrested with others by the vigilance bureau (VB). The raiding team, whose part was Raj Singh, got its statements recorded before the VB last week. Raj’s service record was clean and it was also duly submitted,” said Dhillon.
