Mumbai, Maharashtra (PTI): The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) on Wednesday evening said its indefinite strike against the government's decision permitting homoeopaths to register under the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) and prescribe allopathic medicines will continue as talks with the authorities did not yield any results.
Resident doctors in 32 state-run hospitals across Maharashtra went on an indefinite strike from the midnight of August 5. They were joined by resident doctors at the civic-run hospitals in Mumbai and Thane.
The impact was felt in OPD (outpatient department) services in government hospitals across the state.
Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent of the state-run J J Hospital here, however, claimed that services remained unaffected due to the strike as a parallel system was in place.
Doctors at the J J Hospital and Grant Medical College protested on the premises, shouting slogans against the government's decision.
Earlier in the day, a delegation of Central MARD including BMC MARD representatives held a meeting with the Joint Secretary , Medical Education Department, and the Director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and Registrar MMC.
"During the meeting, the government acknowledged the issues raised by Central MARD and took serious cognisance of the statewide agitation. The delegation was informed that the concerns presented by Central MARD will be placed before the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and sincere efforts will be made to arrive at a positive and decisive resolution in the coming days. The Government also stated that certain issues are presently sub judice (before courts) and are therefore being examined within the applicable legal framework," MARD said.
However, no concrete assurance was conveyed during the meeting regarding the key demands, and therefore Central MARD decided to continue its indefinite agitation on August 6, it added.
Resident doctors (MD/MS/DNB) across government medical colleges and hospitals will withdraw all routine clinical, academic and non-life-saving emergency services until further notice, said Central MARD president Atharva Shinde.
The services that will remain suspended include routine OPD, IPD services and ward rounds, elective surgeries, procedures, academic activities, central laboratory services and fever OPD, he said.
Emergency medical services will continue uninterrupted, including casualty and emergency services, trauma care, ICUs, labour rooms, emergency surgeries and life-saving procedures, emergency laboratory (E-Lab), blood bank and all other critical emergency services.
The MMC on June 30 issued a notification allowing homoeopaths to prescribe modern medicines after completing a six-month Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP).
MARD has demanded immediate suspension of the BHMS-CCMP (Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery-Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology) registration process until the final court verdict.
Shinde said the strike was observed in 32 medical colleges across the state as well as those run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
"Our opposition is to the law. There should be no cross-pathy and mixopathy. The Maharashtra government should prioritise services to patients. If they (homoeopaths) have pursued education of 5.5 years (of homeopathy) and get allopathy licence after simply doing a course...it is akin to giving a person a firearm licence and allow him to use weapons indiscriminately," Shinde added.
In Nagpur, resident doctors skipped OPD work at Government Medical College and Research Hospital (GMCH) and Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMC). They staged demonstrations on the hospital premises, holding placards and banners.
Similar scenes were witnessed in government medical colleges across the Vidarbha region.
Dr Ashutosh Ade, general secretary of Central MARD, told PTI that resident doctors abstained from OPD services on Wednesday.
MARD claimed that around 450 resident doctors of IGGMC and 800 resident doctors from GMCH withdrew from OPD services on Wednesday.
The Indian Medical Association, BMC MARD, Maharashtra State Resident Doctors Association, Association of State Medical Interns, Maharashtra Association of Gazetted Medical Officers Group-A, and Maharashtra State Medical Teachers Association have extended their full support to the strike.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.