Resident doctors in Maha ready to resume duty, claims minister

Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan claimed this evening that following successful talks, the resident doctors in government hospitals would be resuming the duty from tonight.
However, sources in the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said in many places the doctors had not returned to work.
Nearly 4,000 resident doctors are staying away from work since Monday, demanding enhanced security in the wake of a string of attacks on doctors by patients' relatives at government hospitals across the state.
The government will ensure that overall some 1,100 security personnel are appointed at these hospitals to prevent attacks, Mahajan said after meeting representatives of resident doctors this evening.

"The government has spoken with various hospital authorities. Around 1,100 security personnel would be deployed at the government-run medical colleges and hospitals to ensure safety of doctors," the minister said.
This morning, Mahajan had warned the protesting resident doctors that they would lose six months' salary and face suspension if they did not resume work by 8 pm.

Swapnil Meshram, secretary of MARD, said, "We have informed out members of the government's decision. They are free to resume duty. We also understand that the state officials need some time to complete the process of deploying security personnel."
However, many of the resident doctors were not convinced about the security at hospitals and hence had not joined duty yet, he said.

Dr Tatyarao Lahane, the Dean of J J Hospital here, said some of the resident doctors had resumed duty.
Earlier in the evening, the Indian Medical Association --
which has some 40,000 members in Maharashtra -- extended support to the agitation.
"We are protesting the Maharashtra government's decision. We are demanding that security personnel be deployed at all government hospitals immediately and the number of patients' relatives entering hospitals be restricted to two per patient," said Dr Sagar Mundada, the chairman of Indian Medical Association's youth wing.
Members of IMA were proceeding on an indefinite strike, he said.
MARD had said 500 resident doctors in Mumbai had been issued notices by the Deans of their hospitals.

Also, 370 resident doctors in Nagpur, 200 in Pune and 114 in Solapur were suspended.
The Bombay High Court, which castigated the doctors during a hearing on a PIL yesterday, would take up the matter again tomorrow.
A senior official of the Medical Education department said the government promised to deploy some 400 security guards by April 1, but the resident doctors wanted that it be done immediately.
The government could not take such a major decision without informing the state legislature which is in session, the official said.
Dr Mundada claimed that the Deans of government hospitals had special funds to appoint security guards but these funds are not utilised.