On Monday night, I was invited by Mahuaa TV to join in a debate on the strike of Bihar doctors. 4000 government doctors of Bihar had gone on strike alleging that the government of Bihar had refused to interfere on their demand of providing protection to practicing government doctors.
The strike was in response to the death of a government doctor who was beaten to death, while on–duty, by some jail inmates over his refusal to sign a false certificate. The Government Doctors’ Association wanted the Bihar government to act and pass the Medical Protection Bill at the earliest.
From the TV reports, after listening to the statement of the Health Minister of Bihar, it appeared that there was a confrontation between the politicians and the medical doctors. The government refused to listen and talk to the doctors and the doctors insisted that they would continue to strike till the government listens to their demand. If both parties remain adamant, the ultimate loser would be the patient.
In a recent Delhi Medical Council order dated 07.12.2010, the council felt, "Under no circumstances doctor should resort to strike as the same puts the patients in severe jeopardy".
Looking at the genesis of a strike, no strikes are ever done, they are always allowed to be done. If the respective government body listens to the memorandum submitted by the so–called striking doctors in time and solves their demands in time, the strike would never take place. In this case, if the government had reacted in time and ordered an inquiry into the doctor’s death, the reactions of the doctors would not have ended up into this strike. Implementing Doctors’ Protection Bill is in the interest of the society as most of the states have already implemented it.
Follow up: The members of Bihar Health Services Association (BSHSA) resumed back to work at government hospitals on 1st June. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered the transfer of the Inspector General (Jail) and Gopalganj District Magistrate on the basis of the report of the principal secretary (Home), who inquired into the incident. Kumar had also announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the victim. Health services were partially affected across the state with about 2,600 government doctors. During the protest, BSHSA had demanded a compensation of Rs one crore to the family of the deceased, besides ensuring adequate security to the doctors on duty and implementation of the Medical Professionals Protection Act.
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