PMCH junior docs call off strike; probe ordered into nurses’ allegations

Junior doctors at Patna Medical College ended their strike over safety concerns after talks with health officials, amid tensions following a nurse's death.

Junior doctors at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Wednesday evening called off their day-long strike over workplace safety concerns following talks with Bihar health secretary Kumar Ravi.

PMCH junior docs call off strike; probe ordered into nurses’ allegations

The strike severely disrupted outpatient services, with only 154 patients registering at the OPD against the usual 2,800-3,000 on a weekday. However, the junior doctors continued to attend emergency and intensive care unit (ICU) duties.

During the meeting, the junior doctors raised concerns over their safety at the workplace arguing that they could not be expected to protect patients if their own security was at risk. They also raised the issue of increasing the stipend of resident doctors.

The agitation came a day after nurses at PMCH staged a strike alleging negligence in treatment and misbehaviour by junior doctors following the death of the husband of a senior nurse on Monday.

According to the nurses, the patient, who suffered from asthma, and was admitted on July 2, died on July 6 after his condition worsened due to alleged medical negligence. Tensions escalated after the death, with the nurses alleging that junior doctors assaulted the deceased’s two children after finding them recording videos of their father’s body and the ensuing verbal altercation between the doctors and the nurses. The doctors were also accused of manhandling the nurse when she tried to intervene.

The nurses withdrew their protest on Tuesday evening following the intervention of Bihar health minister Nishant, who directed the hospital administration to conduct an inquiry.

PMCH Superintendent Dr Rajiva Kumar Singh has constituted a seven-member inquiry committee, headed by Dr Kumari Manju of the obstetrics and gynaecology department, to investigate the allegations made by the nurses against the junior doctors. The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven days.