Bhopal, March 9 (IANS) Medical services at government-run hospitals across Madhya Pradesh were largely affected on Monday as junior doctors and other medical staff staged a protest over the pending revision of stipends.
The state-wide protest, called by the Junior Doctors Association (JUDA), disrupted outpatient department (OPD) services in several hospitals, forcing many patients and their attendants to return without consultation or the medicines required for treatment.
The strike also affected several specialised services, including the Prevention of Parent-To-Child Transmission (PPTCT) counselling and testing centre, the fertility clinic, the ANC room, and other facilities in the gynaecology department of Gandhi Medical College.
OPD services were hit not only at Gandhi Medical College but also in hospitals across districts such as Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa and Gwalior.
However, as seen during similar protests in the past, emergency services for critically ill patients and those already admitted to government hospitals continued and were largely unaffected.
Sources said that a delegation from the Junior Doctors Association is expected to meet Rajendra Shukla, who oversees the state’s health and medical education departments, during his visit to Jabalpur to discuss the issue.
According to JUDA, the CPI-based stipend revision was to be implemented from April 1, 2025, as per a government order, but it has not been enforced despite repeated representations.
Nearly 8,000 resident doctors, senior residents and interns are participating in the strike. Medical experts note that these doctors form the backbone of medical colleges. They handle nearly 70 per cent of the workload in these institutions and are responsible for treating and monitoring a large number of patients.
Dr Brijendra, a resident doctor at Gandhi Medical College, said that the revision was mandated under a state government order issued on June 7, 2021.
“Several letters have been sent to the deans of all medical colleges in the state and to the HODs (Heads of Departments) of all departments. However, emergency services will continue as usual to ensure that critical patients do not face any inconvenience,” Dr Brijendra told IANS.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress urged the state government to address the concerns of the protesting doctors and appealed to them to withdraw the strike.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari told reporters in Indore that the revised stipend for thousands of junior doctors in the state was expected to be implemented from July 2025, but has not yet been released.
“The Madhya Pradesh government frequently takes loans worth thousands of crores but is unable to pay the rightful stipend to our life-saving doctors. The question is, where is all this borrowed money going?” he asked.
--IANS
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