NEET-PG counselling delay: As resident docs continue stir, daily OPD patients hit the most

New Delhi: Long queues of patients were seen outside three Centre-run hospitals in Delhi as resident doctors across the nation continued the boycott of all services to protest against the delay in NEET-PG 2021 counselling — a matter currently stuck in the Supreme Court.

The worst-hit were daily outdoor patient department services, even as senior doctors looked after arrangements and the ailing. Resident doctors' and medical associations have said the delay in NEET-PG admission in medical colleges has caused acute shortage of manpower, and expressed concern that this comes at a time when cases of the new Covid variant, Omicron, are being detected in the country.

Besides Delhi, residents doctors are on strike in major cities of Rajasthan such as Jaipur, Kota, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Bikaner, and in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and civil hospitals in Gujarat, among other states and cities. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) courses are conducted for fields like the Master of Surgery, and Doctor of Medicine.

In the national capital, patient care at Centre-run Ram Manohar Lohia, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge hospitals remained hit due to the protest called by the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association.

The AIIMS Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) said its members will wear black ribbons at work in support of the cause of the overburdened resident doctors of the country and against the delay in NEET-PG counselling. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to ensure that post-graduate admissions are done on a war footing.

General Secretary of the Safdarjung Hospital RDA, Dr Anuj Aggarwal said, "We are continuing with the protest because of no concrete action by the Union health ministry."

The resident doctors have been waiting patiently for some positive outcomes of the Supreme Court proceedings in the matter. However, there seems no respite, said Dr Sunil Duchania, president, Lady Hardinge Medical College RDA.

The AIIMS RDA said the delay in NEET-PG counselling is depriving Indian citizens of services of around 42,000 doctors who would have otherwise joined at least six months ago.

As the resident doctors boycotted work, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had met the resident doctors and a FORDA delegation at the RML hospital on Monday.