Resident doctors defer strike after negotiations with government

Following assurances from the health secretary to improve security conditions for resident doctors in government hospitals, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) on Sunday decided to postpone its indefinite strike for a fortnight.

"We have decided to postpone our indefinite strike till March 15. We have been assured of proper security conditions by next week. We will go on a strike from March 16 if our demands are not met," said Balwinder Singh, president of FORDA.

FORDA is an association of 25 Delhi-based government hospitals.

FORDA, in a letter dated February 12, had urged union Health Minister J.P. Nadda to immediately address the issues related to security in the city's government hospitals.

They had said that if the demands were not met before February 28, they would go on an indefinite hunger strike and refrain from any sort of clinical work.

The letter was written after four incidents of physical assaults, wherein the resident doctors of Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital and Safdurjung Hospital were attacked by the patients' kin.

The resident doctors also claimed that pickpockets and thieves were roaming unchecked in the hospital premises, stealing patients' belongings and cash.

Singh said he and the other members of the association were attempting to make government hospitals from other states become members of the association so as to strengthen the organisation and also ensure that their demands do not go unheeded.

"The number of operation theatres also need to be doubled in all hospitals because patients have to wait for a long time for surgical procedures," Singh said.