PGIMS doctors agree to end strike

The four-day strike in the state-run Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) here by resident doctors ended on Monday as talks between the government and the doctors concluded in the evening, an official said.

Pradeep Kasni, state director-general (medical education and research), held day-long talks with the striking doctors.

Kasni assured them that most of their demands, including increasing posts of doctors, would be accepted and they decided to call off the strike, a government official told IANS.

The striking doctors most probably would be joining work on Tuesday, he added.

The resident doctors, including postgraduate students, stopped working on May 22 to protest the action taken against a colleague after the death of a woman and her newborn child.

Official sources said senior residents were deployed in emergency and outpatient departments (OPDs).

The family of the deceased woman alleged that she and her newborn died due to the negligence of doctors in the gynaecology department.

However, the striking doctors maintained that the woman from Jind town died not due to negligence but due to her critical condition. She had delivered a stillborn baby, they said.

Police had lodged a first information report (FIR) on the complaint of the bereaved family and initiated an inquiry.

Health Minister Anil Vij on Sunday met the victim family and announced strict action against those who were involved in the crime.

He also announced a grant of Rs.100,000 for the family members.