This latest move will affect the overall functioning of the country´s largest and oldest hospital as resident doctors make up two-thirds of the total medical officers, and also because they assume duty full-time.
There are 200 resident doctors at the hospital and they are under-job students at Master´s Level at NAMS. They handle the OPD department and are also involved in all kinds of surgeries. Despite having 60 senior doctors, the hospital does not run well with them alone as they generally do not work there full-time.
NAMS had reached an agreement with the ´Residents Association of NAMS (RAN)´ on the latter´s six-point demand three months ago but the doctors say the management did not fulfill anything except provide duty-rooms and an increment in monthly allowance.
RAN has insisted that they will hence talk only with the Minister for Health, the joint-chancellor of NAMS. They fell out with NAMS Vice-Chancellor Dr CP Maskey during negotiations last week and locked him up inside his office for an hour.
"We tried to draw the attention of the ministry on Monday but there was no feedback at all," said Arwin Joshi, spokesman of RAN. "We are forced to come down heavily."
Health Secretary Dr Praveen Mishra said that the ministry had not yet received any formal correspondence in connection with the problem. "Bir Hospital is an autonomous body and so we do not want to interfere, as far as possible. Given any urgency, we get involved and try to resolve it."
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