Striking resident doctors will be considered on duty: PGI director

PGIMER on Saturday gave relief to the resident doctors, who were on strike for 11 days since August 12, demanding justice for rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Issuing directions to all heads of teaching departments, PGIMER director Dr Vivek Lal said no leaves should be deducted for residents who participated in the protest and that they will be considered on duty.
Additionally, no disciplinary action will be taken against these residents, and no emoluments will be deducted for their absence during the strike period.
During the 11-day strike, hospital services had come to a standstill. The OPD facilities were curtailed and no elective surgeries were performed, putting patients through immense hardship. Over 1,200 elective surgeries were delayed due to the strike.
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) had called off the strike following an appeal from the Chief Justice of India (CJI) during a Supreme Court hearing. The doctors had decided to give authorities a three-week window to address their demands, including justice for the Kolkata rape-murder victim and implementation of the Central Protection Act, while resolving to continue symbolic protests after duty hours.
Order comes after SC hearing
The director’s orders came following Supreme Court’s second hearing on the Kolkata rape-murder case.
On August 22, when the matter was being heard by a bench of CJI DY Chandrachud with justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, a counsel said to be representing the PGIMER doctors had submitted that the doctors were being victimised. They rallied one hour in the morning and then they were working, but they were also penalised, the court was informed.
In response to this, CJI had said the seasoned directors (taking Dr Lal’s name), who helm these institutions, will never do something like this.
PGIMER doctors’ counsel had further apprised the court that doctors’ casual leaves were being deducted. Following this, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said an assurance from this court should satisfy the doctors.
On this, the CJI said if doctors had resumed duty, we will prevail upon the authorities not to take any adverse action. “But they must first come back to work. Otherwise, the people who need their services the most are deprived of their services. That’s the only concern. How can public health infrastructure run if doctors don’t resume work?,” he had questioned.
On Saturday, members of ARD met Dr Lal and clarified that they had no legal representation at the Supreme Court hearing on August 22 and whatever had been said by the legal counsel was not supported by ARD.
The association also submitted a copy of the Supreme Court hearing at the director’s office, highlighting that the CJI had asked all authorities to not victimise the doctors and not to subject them to any coercive action.
Resident doctors welcome decision
ARD expressed heartfelt gratitude to the director for his support during the whole course of the protest. The association was assured by the director that he would look into the attendance matter and try to do everything possible in his personal capacity.
Dr Hariharan A, president of ARD, said, “We were on strike for our medical fraternity, so our intentions were genuine. Therefore, faculty, nurses, technicians and other student associations joined our protest. We welcome PGIMER’s decision. We will continue our protest after duty hours for the next three weeks.”
Dr Perugu Praneeth Reddy, joint secretary of ARD, said, “We welcome this decision, as we requested to the director and he responded in a positive way.”
No work, no pay for others: Munjal
Meanwhile, Ashwani Kumar Munjal, the chairperson of contract workers’ joint action committee, said, “PGIMER is biased against the contract workers, as action is taken against them under the no work, no pay provision.”
He added that accepting resident doctors’ presence on strike as on duty was relief for them. “Even if their presence on strike is considered as leave, it is a concession for them. For others, the high court says anyone absent from duty is absent. This attitude is legally wrong,” Munjal added.
Resident doctors seek enhanced security measures
Resident doctors on Saturday once again submitted a letter to the director, outlining a series of urgent security measures that they believe are essential for ensuring their safety on the campus.
These include presence of security personnel across the entire campus, increased night patrols, CCTV cameras and adequate lighting across the campus. The doctors are also advocating for the installation of SOS buttons at sensitive locations for immediate Quick Response Team action.
Additionally, the resident doctors called for the establishment of a dedicated helpline number for reporting security concerns. They insisted that any incidents reported via this helpline should be followed by a prompt, time-bound response.
One of the more pressing demands is the provision of an institutional FIR in the case of incidents like theft or violence. The residents argued that the institute should be the first responder for filing FIRs, rather than the individual residents. To further this cause, they proposed the formation of a permanent committee under the MS office to handle any instances of violence against residents.
Additionally, they demanded to enhance the security and infrastructure at PGIMER by repairing and securing Doctor’s Duty Rooms (DDRs), establishing more DDRs where needed, and ensuring all hospital and security attendants (HA and SA) wear ID cards at all times.
They sought thorough background checks on all HA, SA and security personnel before employment.