1,200 Ahmedabad civil hospital doctors go on strike over stipend hike

Around 1,200 resident doctors of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in Gujarat went on an indefinite strike on Monday seeking a hike in stipend.

Services were affected despite authorities making alternate arrangements in view of the strike, with patients and kin complaining of long wait at the Aswara-based facility, which is attached to BJ Medical College and is the largest in the state.

As per resident doctors, they will stay away from all duties, including trauma care, emergency and outpatient department (OPD) services as part of the strike until an amicable solution is found. "The state health department had agreed to increasing stipend by 40 per cent every three years. This hike was supposed to come into effect from April 1.

It was, however, not implemented till July after which we met state health minister Rushikesh Patel. We had postponed our stir then after getting an assurance about its implementation," said Dr Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors' Association of BJ Medical College. "We have been forced to go on an indefinite strike now because we have learnt the state government has only given a 20 per cent hike, which is half of what was promised.

Moreover, the state government has now said the stipend will be revised every five years instead of three years. This is not acceptable as the government has gone back on its promise," Gameti claimed. The strike has caused hardships to people, with a person saying he had got his kin from Rajkot for jaundice treatment but was told about the unavailability of doctors.

"We will have to come another day after waiting in the corridors for several hours," the kin said. Speaking about the situation, Civil Hospital Additional Medical Superintendent Rajnish Patel said, "The leaves of all medical and non-medical staff has been cancelled. We have made adjustments in duty allocation to attend patients. We have called in doctors from other district hospitals to compensate for the shortfall. At present, 130 medical officers are on duty."

In a statement, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel criticised resident doctors for demanding a 40 per cent hike. "From September 1, we have decided to give a 20 per cent hike. Stipend paid to resident doctors in Gujarat is among the highest in the country. With this hike, doctors will now get nearly Rs 1.30 lakh per month as stipend. In many states, stipend ranges between Rs 40,000 to Rs 70,000 per month. Moreover, this stipend is totally tax free," Patel said.