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Monday, Mar 17, 2008
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Doctors stick to their guns

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR: Hopes for an early end to the crisis pertaining to government doctors’ mass resignation were dashed after the Orissa Medical Services Association (OMSA) rejected ‘reconciliation formula’ that emerged from the association’s meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Emergency meet

OMSA on Sunday declared that doctors would not reverse their decision to resign from their services, which would become effective from March 19.

An emergency meeting of Central Working Committee (CWC) was convened here at the Capital Hospital where members decided to stick to the tough position on demands related to their service code.

OMSA leaders have already participated in a number of parleys with the Health and Finance Ministers and departmental secretaries after 2,110 doctors tendered their resignations on February 18 giving one-month notice period. However, a feasible formula could not be worked out so far.

After legislators cutting across party line raised their concerns in the Assembly over the impending crisis in the health sector, Chief Minister on Saturday called on the doctors but the meeting also proved to be a failure.

Meanwhile, doctors stopped attending on patients.

Most of the patients were also being referred to nearest medical college hospitals. Only emergency cases were being referred to the doctors.

“The proposals put forward by the government in response to our 19-point charter demands are not acceptable to us. They have failed to understand our basic concerns such as salary on a par with Central government doctors and time-bound promotions,” OMSA president Madhusudan Mishra said here.

Mr. Mishra also refused to buy the argument that the State government cannot declare the package for doctors as the model code of conduct was in force after notification for the Laxmipur by-election.

Main demand

OMSA is demanding that scale of pay of doctors be fixed at Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 16,500 at the entry level to State government service and specialist allowance of 30 per cent of the basic pay and pension after 25 years of service.

“This is very important. Most of the graduates are shifting to other States as the salary structure here is not attractive,” Nihar Ranjan Samal, OMSA’s branch secretary, said.

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