SKIMS strike takes its toll
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 18: Thirty three patients died in State’s premier health care centre, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS), since Friday afternoon mainly due to strike by around 400 resident doctors and one day around 5000 para-medical staff of the hospital.
As the standoff between the doctors and admiration continued, the patients are suffering and State Government is silent. According figures of the SKIMS hospital, 33 patients died since Friday afternoon as the functioning of the territory care hospital has been paralysed due to strike over a trifle issue between doctors and a security guard.
Police said that the resident doctors comprising Registrars, Post-Graduates, House Surgeons and Interns went on strike after a security guard was beaten up by Dr Imran Bhat over the issue of parking. According to police, the security guard had asked the doctor to keep his car in designated parking and not in the VIP area.
The issue of parking resulted in beating up of security guard by the doctor and his colleague Dr Arfat, said Police. Two Non-gazetted employees of the SKIMS, Ghulam Rasool and Javed Ahmad, came to rescue of the security guard and they beat up the two doctors resulting in head injury to Dr Imran.
Dr. Imran lodged an FIR (No. 47/2012) in Police Station Soura against the two employees for beating him and Dr Arafat. The security guard also lodged an FIR (No. 47/2012) in Police Station Soura against the two doctors for beating him.
Soon after the beating of doctors on Friday, around 400 resident doctors of the SKIMS went on strike and demanded action against the two employees for beating up of the doctors.
Acting on the complaint of Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of SKIMS-Soura, Director SKIMS, Dr Showkat Ali Zargar suspended two employees Ghulam Rasool and Javed Ahmad yesterday and handed over a charge sheet to them.
Around 5000 Non-gazetted employees of the SKIMS including the para-medics went on strike and demanded immediate revocation of the suspension order of the two employees.
Today, the Director SKIMS revoked his order after the two employees in response to Director’s charge-sheet replied that the matter is in police station and parallel proceedings can’t be initiated against them. After the revocation of the order, the Non-Gazetted employees called off their strike and resumed their duty.
The strike has pralysed the functioning of the hospital and Out Patient Department (OPD) and surgery have been badly hit.
Around 3500 patients were being examined in OPD every day but according to figures, since strike began, it came down to 500 daily and today hardly few patients were examined.
Normally hospital is admitting around 190 patients daily while hospital records suggested that it came down below 100 these days. There has been hardly any admission from the SKIMS OPD these days.
Dr Zagar told Excelsior that the Resident doctors may call off their strike tomorrow. He said that OPD and surgeries have been affected partially due to strike. On the death toll of 33 since strike began, Dr Zargar said that it is routine.
The president of Resident Doctors Association (RDA) SKIMS, Dr Asif Mehraj told Excelsior that they have suspended routine work of OPD and theatre between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m only. He said Emergencies; Intensive Care Units and High Dependency Units are functioning normally.
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