Day 3: Patients on God’s mercy as 400 JJ Hospital doctors continue strike
Most of the surgeries have been postponed as resident doctors aren’t reporting to work. Photo courtesy: Deepika Sharma.
Demanding transfer of JJ Hospital Dean Dr T P Lahane and head of department of Ophthalmology Dr Ragini Parekh, 400 resident doctors associated with Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors’ (MARD) have gone on an indefinite strike.
The doctors also demanded that the institute adopts Post Graduate (PG) curriculum prescribed by the Medical Council of India for Opthalmology.
Speaking to media, Dr Parameshwar Satpathy, President JJ MARD, said, “Apart from the transfer of our hospital Dean and HoD of Ophthalmology, we want the institute to adopt PG curriculum for Opthalmology which has been prescribed by the MCI. The strike will continue until our demands are met.”
He added, “In Opthalmology department, resident doctors are allowed to assist only in minor surgeries. Therefore, when that doctor is out of the course, he/she has learnt nothing more than his/her MBBS qualifications. Cataract surgery is one of the most important surgeries in Opthalmology. But even that is not allowed to many doctors.”
Caught amidst the fight, it’s the poor patients who are suffering, as most of the surgeries have been postponed.
JJ Hospital strike. Photo courtesy: Deepika Sharma.
