PANJIM: Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) called off its five-day strike on Tuesday, following assurances by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane that their demands related to safety of health workers in the State will be fulfilled.
Speaking to O Heraldo, GARD president Dr Ayush Sharma said, “We have called off the strike, but the protests will continue in one form or another. We will not be disrupting anything, routine OPDs will continue like normal as it used to be before, but we will have some form of representation till justice is served at the national level.”
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
“As far as the backlog of work is concerned, we have been doubling up in the emergency because we were taking up some routine cases in an emergency. We have doubled up efforts and everybody is working towards it. So we need not bother about that. Consultants were sitting in the OPDs,” he said.
The strike was withdrawn after assurance given by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane that a special one-member committee will be appointed to address the issues faced by women doctors.
GARD had commenced the protest on August 16, demanding justice to the 31-year-old doctor from Kolkata who was raped and brutally murdered at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Earlier, the GARD submitted a representation to the Health Minister demanding swift address of safety and security complaints of residents by a Grievance Redressal Committee by appointing a Doctor Relation Officer (DRO).
The GARD also demanded improvement of lighting, extra CCTVs, computer based reporting system to mitigate the role of interns collecting reports to ensure safety of interns and residents especially during night working hours, security check, police verification training to handle situation of all security guards before being appointed, posting of additional security at crowded places and enforcement of visitors pass, among others.
Meanwhile, speaking to mediapersons, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that he will take the issues to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and also to the cabinet so that they are discussed and addressed.
“We are totally with the GARD. They have given us a list of several issues pertaining to the type of security which is required. They have demanded appointment of a Doctor Relation Officer. So one of the doctors will be identified in the next two days,” he said.
He said the commitment of the government will be given to GARD in writing and he will see that the issues raised by the doctors are addressed.
