Ahmedabad Medical Association today announced that all private doctors from across the state would go on strike tomorrow, July 22. All services, including OPD and emergency services of private hospitals, will be unavailable. The doctors are protesting a directive by the state government that is based on Gujarat High Court’s instructions.
On June 30, the court asked the state government to issue a notice which mandated that the hospitals shift ICUs to the ground floor and remove glass facades. These instructions are said to provide better safety against fire and help prevent such accidents.
However, the doctors believe that having ICU on the ground floor and several other provisions do not have anything to do with the prevention or management of fire. They said that they were ready to accept any instructions for the safety of the patients and staff, but a unilateral directive is not helpful or practical.
Association President Dilip Garhvi and Dr Mehul Shah, secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that the Gujarat state branch of the IMA strongly opposes such unilateral orders and requests their withdrawal. Any such decision should be taken after consultation with the scientific committee of doctors and the concerned party.
