Doctors call off strike, but harp on security at workplace

The strike by resident doctors of Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital was called off Friday night, five days after it had started, following a meeting between the doctors and the state health secretary.

"We have discussed all our demands with the health secretary and he has given assurance to work on them," Dr Sumit Paria, president of DDU's Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) said.

Around 10 Delhi government hospitals which had also gone on strike in solidarity with their counterparts in DDU also called off their strike.

Though doctors' at DDU withdrew the strike, a simple demand of security at the hospital remains unaddressed in the national Capital.

While the issue it highlights the failure of hospital administration to provide a safe working environment for its doctors, it is also indicative of a deeper anguish, that of inadequate healthcare infrastructure.

A doctor at DDU said: "We see at least 1,000-1,500 patients everyday in the casualty. There is one doctor for 100 patients. We still give our best." The general secretary of the RDA, Dr Shashank Srivastava, added: "In gynaecology department, we have around 50-60 deliveries per day. You can guess the work pressure from this. There is 200 percent occupancy in our hospital."

In 2014, the hospital had a yearly footfall around 3.5 lakh patients in the Emergency ward. In 2016, the number reached to nearly 5 to 6 lakh patients per year. "The number of patients has almost doubled in three years, but the time to attend to them has reduced to half. In 2014, we could give around six minutes to every patient coming to the Emergency ward. We have still the same man power and infrastructure as it was in 2014," he added.

According to the Economic Survey 2016-17, the average number of hospital beds available for 1,000 people is less than three (2.76) in India; whereas World Health Organisation recommends at least five beds for every 1,000 people. Delhi hospitals have about 49,969 beds, while the population in the city is around 1.8686 crore.

A state government health official said: "It is believed that the ground situation in Delhi hospitals is not up to the mark. The large numbers of people from surrounding towns and cities, who come to the capital for treatment, multiply the pressure on health infrastructure in Delhi."

"When there is one doctor and 100 patients, the doctor has to take a call on who needs immediate attention. But for each attendant, his or her patient is more important. This mismatch between infrastructure and patient workload is the root cause of the instances of scuffle," said Dr Srivastava.