Over 500 AIIMS doctors to join strike by FORDA

Over 500 AIIMS doctors here will on Thursday join an ongoing strike called by Delhi-based Federation Of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), a senior resident doctor said.

Over 20,000 members of FORDA, an association of 25 Delhi-based government hospitals, went on an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding adequate stocks of life-saving drugs, security at work place, fixed duty hours and timely payment of their salaries.

Initially, the association had asked the resident doctors of AIIMS not to join the strike in the wake of likely problems such a move may cause to patients.

"As the government is not in a serious mood to pay heed to the problems of resident doctors, so we have asked resident doctors of AIIMS also to join the strike. Let them (government) know what it leads to if the problems of doctors are ignored," a FORDA member told IANS on Tuesday.

The strike has affected the Outpatient department (OPD) services at AIIMS. On Tuesday, at least 2,000 patients from other government hospitals in Delhi, including Safdarjung hospital, were referred to AIIMS.

Despite all demands of the doctors being met by the Delhi government, FORDA continued their strike saying: "Our association also has members working in hospitals run by the central government and the municipal corporation."

"We want that the demands are accepted by others (the Centre and Delhi's civic bodies) also," a senior resident doctor from Safadarjung hospital told IANS.