Ludhiana: OPD services at Civil Hospital to resume as doctors call of strike

After staying shut for three days, the outpatient department (OPD) at the Civil Hospital here will now open on Monday as the doctors called off their strike late Saturday.

After staying shut for three days, the outpatient department (OPD) at the Civil Hospital here will now open on Monday as the doctors called off their strike late Saturday.

After staying shut for three days, the outpatient department (OPD) at the Civil Hospital here will now open on Monday as the doctors called off their strike late Saturday. (HT File)

The patients were a harried lot, returning unattended from the district hospital. As the health department suffers from an acute shortage of doctors, patients from across the district turn to the civil hospital for all sort of ailments.

The doctors suspended the OPD on Thursday after the government failed to put the assurances in writing. Following a meeting with the health minister Dr Balbir Singh late Friday evening the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) relaxed the strike a little allowing the OPD to be functional on Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm.

Earlier on Friday the health department had roped in two doctors from a private hospital to run the OPD for a couple of hours.

In a statement issued by the medic’s body it said, “In a joint statement issued after a meeting between the health minister, additional secretary health and family welfare, additional secretary finance and PCMSA, the state government has announced that all demands of PCMSA have been accepted unconditionally.”

PCMSA state president Dr Akhil Sareen, said that it was promised that security framework at all 24x7 healthcare centers of the state to be announced within one week, 400 posts of medical officers to be filled in by next month with another batch to recruited by the end of this year, assured career progression (ACPs) to be unconditionally reinstated and implemented within the next 12 weeks.

ACPs are grade pay hikes the doctors get thrice in their career. Once after four years in service, after nine years, and 13 years.

The strike saw complete shutdown of OPDs, no elective OTs (only caesarean sections (both elective and emergency) and lifesaving surgeries continued uninterrupted, no elective trauma, no general medical examinations for driving license and arms license, no VIP/VVIP duties, ⁠no dope tests, no OPD reporting, no meetings, and no enquiries.