Gujarat doctors on strike over bond services issue

According to the said bond, it is the responsibility of physicians to travel to remote communities and take care of people's health while it is not a compulsion for the resident doctors to take care of the patients in the vicinity.

Surat:Around 1,000 physicians from Gujarat's six medical colleges went on strike on Wednesday to demand preference for the resident physicians for bond services. The physicians had already spoken with the Chief Minister and the health department officials regarding their needs and demands though nothing has been done thus far in the matter. As informed by the physicians involved in the strike, they have been reiterating their demands for over three months now, but to no avail.

Junior doctors in government medical institutes in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot have several demands, some of which, like the one for services for PG specialist doctors in communities, have been approved by the government. However, the government disagrees with the doctors' chief demand to get rid of the bond. According to the said bond, it is the responsibility of physicians to travel to remote communities and take care of people's health while it is not a compulsion for the resident doctors to take care of the patients in the vicinity.

Reacting to the matter, Health Minister Hrishikesh Patel assured that the government will make alternative arrangements if the junior doctors on duty return to their work immediately. The striking doctors, however, seem to not settle for lesser than what they are demanding.

"We have written about 10 to 15 letters to them (authorities) since February. We have already sent letters to the Higher Authority, Commissioner, Minister of Health, ACS, and many others. We also tried insisting they consider it as a bond time under HR shift service. The State Government needs to be aware of this, think positively of our requests, and deem them acceptable. Despite these several letters, no response has yet been sent," one of the striking doctors said.