Medical interns and junior doctors working in public hospitals in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad ended their strike on Wednesday following a meeting with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The state government last week announced an increase in medical students’ stipends, which enraged them. As a result, the medical students went on strike a few days ago. In less than a month, this was their second strike.
A few days ago, they had been on strike for days protesting the rape and murder case in West Bengal. It is reported that the state government gave them assurances that the government will consider their demand for an increase in stipend.
“Following a meeting between Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the state’s interns and junior doctors, the two-day-long medical strike in the state has been successfully resolved. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s positive approach and focus on the broader public health interest in ensuring treatment for the state’s needy citizens led the doctors to call off their strike and assure the Chief Minister that they will resume their services as before,” the statement read.
Raging Protests
On Monday, over 1,200 doctors practising at Gujarat’s Ahmedabad Civil Hospital began an indefinite strike in protest of their stipend increase. Patients and relatives at the Aswara-based hospital, which is connected to BJ Medical College and is the largest in the state, complained of lengthy wait times despite the administration having made alternative arrangements in light of the strike.
According to resident doctors, as part of the strike, they refrained from doing any tasks, including trauma care, emergency department and outpatient department (OPD) services, until a peaceful resolution was reached. Every three years, the state health department had committed to increasing the stipend by 40 per cent.
Junior Doctors’ Association President Dr. Dhaval Gameti said, “We were forced to go on an indefinite strike because we learned the state government had only given a 20 per cent hike, which was half of what was promised. Moreover, the state government had said the stipend would be revised every five years instead of three years. This was not acceptable as the government had gone back on its promise.”
Earlier, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel had criticised the move and said, “From September 1, we decided to give a 20 percent hike. The stipend paid to resident doctors in Gujarat was among the highest in the country. With this hike, doctors would now get nearly Rs 1.30 lakh per month as a stipend. In many states, stipends ranged between Rs 40,000 to Rs 70,000 per month. Moreover, this stipend was totally tax-free.”
In response, one of the resident doctors told VOI, “We would carry this strike to Gandhinagar if the government did not listen to us. We had submitted multiple applications, yet received no concrete response from their end.”
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