KOZHIKODE: House surgeons at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) who had launched an indefinite strike on Thursday after relatives of a patient allegedly manhandled a duty doctor, Aaron David, withdrew their stir on Friday morning.

Talking to reporters at the Medical College on Friday, House Surgeons Association (HSA) president Jamshid Ahamed and Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association ( KGMCTA) Calicut Medical College Unit president V.K. Suresh Baboo said though they were withdrawing the stir after Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy assured them that security at the KMCH would be strengthened, they would be forced to resort to agitations if action was not taken against those who manhandled the duty doctor.

The striking students held talks with the Health Minister here on Thursday morning. The patient, Sreeja, 27, wife of Ashok Kumar from Malappuram, died at the hospital following which the relatives manhandled the duty doctor. Dr. Ahamed and Dr. Baboo said that even after 72 hours after the doctor was manhandled, the perpetrators were at large.

They said attacks on doctors had occurred in the past also at KMCH. However, the authorities were then reluctant to strengthen the security system or take any other action. Hence, doctors were forced to go on strike on Thursday.

Control on visitors

They said there should be some control on the number of visitors to the wards in the hospital. In some cases, anti-social elements sneak in posing as visitors and create trouble, they said. If the number of visitors was not regulated, doctors and other staff at the hospital would find it difficult to treat the patients, they said.

KGMCTA Calicut Medical College Unit secretary Cyriac Job and Postgraduate Students Association president K.S. Raghu said they had put forward demands, including arrest of the culprits, ensuring protection to the doctors, reviewing the work and pay conditions and controlling the number of visitors. If these demands were not met, the organisations will be forced to go on strike, they added.

College Union chairman Saidalavi T said medical students had already put forward a demand to determine the duties of house surgeons. She said it was not right to put the blame on doctors for the lack of facilities at the hospital.

The Health Minister assured the association office-bearers on Thursday that the security system at the Medical College Hospital here would be strengthened. The number of helpers of patients in hospital wards would be regulated. She said security supervision at the hospital wards would be strengthened by posting a security officer in charge of four wards.

Police aid post sought

The Medical College Citizen's Forum has demanded setting up of a police aid post at the casualty of the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital to avoid untoward incidents. However, the forum has appealed to the doctors to stop frequent `flash strikes,' which was hindering the functioning of the hospital.

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