Junior doctors at Aligarh hospital threaten to cease work, demand better work conditions

Junior doctors at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College Hospital here have threatened to cease work from Tuesday and go on a hunger strike if authorities fail to consider their demand for better work conditions at the COVID-19 isolation ward.

There are around 600 junior doctors in the hospital, which is one of the state's frontline facilities for testing and treating coronavirus patients.

Resident doctors' association president Dr Hamza said junior doctors were facing work pressure in view of change in duty hours and sought intervention of AMU Vice Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor in the matter.

Doctors at the hospital are finding it difficult to cope with the recent increase in their monthly duty hours from one week at the COVID ward to two weeks of continuous duty at the COVID ward.

During the past 10 days, three junior doctors at the hospital have tested positive for coronavirus.