Safdarjung doctors call off strike

Resident doctors at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital called off their indefinite strike Wednesday after a health ministry official agreed to look into their demands, including better amenities and salaries.

"A health ministry official said that they have released the pending four months' salary. The other demands including availability of potable water in wards, upgradation of the canteen and security in the premises will be looked into. So we called off the strike," Samir Prabhakar, spokesperson of the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA), told IANS.

Doctors also complained of lack of accommodation for them in the hostel.

"As of now, a temporary arrangement has been made for 150 women resident doctors in DDA (Delhi Development Authority) flats," Prabhakar added.

Since Tuesday evening, around 800 resident doctors at the central government-run hospital went on strike putting patients to inconvenience.

"We went on a strike since yesterday (Tuesday evening) as the hospital administration took only token measures last week to pacify us, but nothing was done constructively. Now since the health ministry official has assured us, we hope our demands will be met," Prabhakar said.

The strike hit the out patient department but the emergency and the intensive care unit services were running smoothly at the hospital, officials said.