HYDERABAD: The stand-off between the junior doctors and the state government continued on Sunday also with neither side yielding ground on the demands that the Junior Doctors’ Association has put forth before the cabinet subcommittee.Medical care continued to be affected in all teaching hospitals across the state.Though the superintendents of the hospitals claimed that not much dislocation was there, the situation at the hospital was contrary to their claims.Junior doctors said they would continue their agitation and by taking the support of other people’s organisations, they would intensify it further.“We will take stock of the situation tomorrow,” Junior Doctors Association representative B Ashok said, adding; “We will take the support of the student organisations like Student Federation of India, PDSU and women organisations like the IDWA to intensify the agitation,” he said..Meanwhile, the state government has decided to act tough against the striking junior doctors.The Cabinet sub-committee members after discussing the issue with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said the demand relating to increase in stipend was indefensible since it is the highest in the country.“As the house surgeons were not in a mood to listen to us, we are making alternative arrangements to prevent dislocation in services at the hospitals,’’ medical education minister Kondru Murali said.The state government has decided to utilise the services of senior doctors, professors, retired doctors to attend to emergency services.He appealed to the patients not to get panic as emergency services will not be effected and alternative arrangements have been made, the minister said.Primary education minister, S Sailajanath, who is a member of the cabinet subcommittee, said the government had agreed to a majority of their demands but still they were blackmailing the government.Meanwhile, the chief minister on Sunday said that the state government was sympathetic towards the striking junior doctors and even agreed to 11 out of the 13 demands.However, he asked the administration to extend better medical services to the poor and needy and see that medical treatment is provided to them.The officials informed the chief minister that one of the two demands of junior doctors— abolition of rural services was not possible as per Medical Council of India’s (MCI) rules.As regards other demand of stipend enhancement, officials informed that the government is paying much higher than the neighbouring states.Officials informed the chief minister that in Osmania General Hospital there were 548 service doctors and specialists and for every shift only 25 junior doctors were helping the seniors.Meanwhile, Hyderabad district collector Natarajan Gulzar visited Gandhi Hospital and held an emergency meeting with senior doctors of the hospitals.Services of specialist doctors were being utilised to attend to emergency and critical care, special attention is being given to operations to be performed in gynaecology, pediatrics, surgery and other wards, he said.
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