Protesting doctors at the Hindu Rao hospital on Monday met civic body officials demanding an increase in the deployment of security officials to ensure safety of doctors on duty. The agitating doctors additionally demanded the setting up of a police chowki inside the campus.
The demands were put forth by the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run hospital on the second day of the agitation.
“There are about 120 guards deployed for a hospital with over 1,000 beds, making it very difficult for the guards to be competent and handle such situations. We want the number of guards to be increased to ensure safety of the doctors on duty. We also demand the deployment of bouncers within the campus, similar to those present in other hospitals,” said Manoj Behri, Vice-President of the hospital’s RDA.
The resident doctors of the hospital went on a strike on Sunday against the alleged assault on two doctors by a patient’s family.
One of the protesting doctors, Danish Khan, said, “Our demand is simple. We want sufficient security for the doctors. Unlike the police force and army, we are not trained to deal with such kinds of job hazards. We are trained to treat people and that is what we do. But unless we ourselves are safe, how can we treat patients? It is impossible to work in such conditions.”
Arun Yadav, Director, Hospital Administration of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation said, “The demands of the RDA have been accepted and the security at the hospital have been beefed up. Additionally, a police chowki has also been set up at the hospital on Monday afternoon after having spoken to the area SHO.”
As of Monday evening, the agitating doctors said that a call will be taken on Tuesday on whether the strike will be continued.
“The authorities have asked for 24 hours to meet all the demands. So we will wait till Tuesday morning to take a call on whether to continue the strike or not. Till then only senior doctors will be attending to the patients at emergency wards and OPDs,” said Mr. Behri.
