Safdarjung doctors on strike

Around 1,000 resident doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital are on a strike, miffed with poor amenities, security and salaries, and patients are bearing the brunt of their agitation, a doctor said Thursday.

The strike that began Wednesday has hit the out patients department (OPD) services but the emergency and the intensive care unit (ICU) services are running smoothly, officials said.

Lambasting the hospital for lacking basic facilities, one of the doctors said: "There is no drinking water even for patients, leave alone doctors. We are not getting paid properly and no proper security facilities are in place."

"There are cases where doctors have been assaulted by aggrieved families of patients," he added.

Doctors also complained of lack of adequate accommodation for the number of doctors in the hostel.

Harsh Anand, president of Resident Doctors Association, told IANS: "We have already held meetings with the hospital authorities before going on strike but still situation remains the same."

S.N. Makwana, press information officer at the hospital, however assured that the gridlock would end soon.

"We are meeting the resident doctors on strike and the strike would be over soon," Makwana told IANS.

However, another doctor, Sameer Prabhakar warned that if their demands were not met, the agitation would continue at any cost.

"We are all hoping that our demands will be met and the issue would get resolved soon If that does not happen then we will continue with the strike," he said.