Hindu Rao Hospital strike: Resident doctors withdraw from services

The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run Hindu Rao Hospital on Sunday withdrew from work after the administration failed to meet the deadline for releasing their salaries.

The RDA had on Friday threatened to withdraw the services if the administration did not pay their salaries within 48 hours. The deadline expired on Sunday morning.

"More than 200 resident doctors and over 300 nursing staff are on an indefinite strike since October 5. The administration has not paid our salaries for three months. It is difficult to continue working like this," RDA president Abhimanyu Sardana said.

Authorities on Saturday shifted 20 Covid-19 patients from the hospital to the Delhi government-run facilities, with Health Minister Satyendar Jain saying the BJP-led civic body should "hand over" municipal hospitals to the AAP dispensation if they cannot run them.

At present, there are three critically ill patients at the hospital who are being taken care of by senior doctors.

Hindu Rao is the largest municipal hospital in Delhi with 900 beds, and is currently a dedicated Covid-19 facility. Many of its healthcare workers had contracted the infection earlier.

North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash had on Saturday claimed that crores of fund are due to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation from the Delhi government, which they are "not paying to handicap us".