Mumbai, july 14: The striking 3,000-odd resident doctors are, perhaps, not overplaying their hand, saying that the state’s threat of issuing termination letters to them is nothing but a pressure tactic. As their strike entered the seventh day on Monday, it became clear that the public health system in the state was absolutely dependent on them.
Close to 80% of the services came to a standstill. As per records, there were only 13 normal deliveries and four caesarean sections in tertiary hospitals on Monday. The most overcrowded hospitals in the city taken together saw just 74 surgeries. Their out-patient departments treated merely 780 patients.
The government announced the cancellation of registration of students with vengeance. But things at the university level are not moving that fast. Is this because the state cannot afford to send packing such a huge number of doctors?
Dr Mridula Phadke, vice-chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), admitted to having received a letter from the government, asking to cancel the registration of students. “But the deans of various medical colleges are yet to send any communication,” she said. “We will decide the course of action after a discussion with the management council.”
Senior professors currently running the show have made it clear that the system would crumble without resident doctors. “It is impractical to think that senior head of the departments and professors can slog for 12 hours or more over a long period of time,” said Dr Rajesh Dere, secretary, Senior Doctors’ Association. “We have decided to curtail our services to eight hours a day.We will only attend to emergencies.”
Dr Sanjay Oak, dean of KEM Hospital, described resident doctors as the “backbone of all hospitals”. “It is difficult to run hospitals without them,” he said, adding that the government should soon think of some long-term alternative plan as no amount of external support could compensate for the absence of resident doctors.
The government too admitted that resident doctors played a pivotal role in running the health care system. “We agree that terminating them is not a feasible option. But they have compelled us to take this step,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research.
–Agencies