The situation in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital has been such that for the last three days, those who have to reach the hospital after taking an appointment with a doctor, should first call once and confirm whether their service is available or not. Allegations of misbehavior and pushing by the senior resident doctor have made the atmosphere in the hospital so heated that the resident doctors have withdrawn themselves from many important services. This is directly affecting the patients.
How did the controversy start?
On the morning of 28 November, a case of alleged misbehavior and pushing by the Head of the Department (CTVS), Dr. Anurag Gupta, with a senior resident doctor of the Anesthesia Department came to light in the CTVS ICU. Resident doctors allege that the complaint about the incident was given to the hospital administration on the same day, but even after 72 hours, no concrete steps were taken. From here the doctors got angry.
‘Agreement was made in the meeting, then they reneged after coming out’
After the incident, several meetings were held between the director, hospital administration, RDA and anesthesia residents. It was decided that the residents in the HOD department of CTVS would apologize verbally to the doctor and a written apology would also be given. An official letter was also to be issued from the director. But according to resident doctors, the administration has gone back from the consensus reached in the meeting and is now flatly refusing to include the word apology in any letter. This further increased the resentment of the residents.
Doctors said no to elective services
Dissatisfied with the attitude of the administration, Anesthesia Residents and RDA announced that they will not participate in all the optional services of OPD, Elective Surgery and OT from tomorrow i.e. Wednesday. Due to this, the CTVS unit of the hospital, where serious surgeries related to heart and lungs are performed, has almost come to a standstill. Although emergency services are functioning normally, routine surgeries and operations are being postponed.
FAIMA also entered the field, warning issued
Federation of All India Medical Association i.e. FAIMA, supporting the RDA, has demanded an immediate written apology from the hospital administration. The organization says that if this does not happen then RDAs across the country can go on a collective strike, which will affect the health services at the national level.
Patient and family worried
Due to the dispute, there is an atmosphere of confusion among the patients reaching the hospital. Many people are returning without treatment, some are being asked to come the next day. This is why it has become very important to know the status of available services over the phone before going to the hospital. There is now pressure on the Safdarjung Hospital administration to resolve the dispute quickly, otherwise the situation may move towards a long strike. The growing concern of the patients and the rising questions regarding the safety of the doctors, together have brought this important government hospital to an unstable state.
