Andhra government toughens stand against striking junior doctors

Hyderabad: With junior doctors in Andhra Pradesh's government hospitals further intensifying their strike and their boycott leading to the death of 24 patients in hospitals across the state, the government has decided to further toughen its stand against them.

A cabinet subcommittee, after discussing the situation with the Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy yesterday, declared that the government will make alternative arrangements to ensure emergency services are running in all hospitals and there will not be any further talks with the striking doctors.

Medical Education Minister Kondru Murli told reporters after the meeting that the government had accepted 11 demands made by the doctors' association and added that other problems could be solved through talks.

"But the junior doctors have adopted an unreasonable stand and endangered the lives of the poor people by boycotting the emergency duties," he said.

On the demands to hike stipend of junior doctors, another minister, Shailajanath, said that the stipend was much higher in Andhra Pradesh than any other state. But the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors' Association (Apjuda) said that it wants the stipend to be at a par with AIIIMS, New Delhi and JIPMER, Puducherry.

Other demands

The other demands of Apjuda include improving the infrastructure and working conditions in government hospitals, supplying better equipment and life-saving systems including ventilators. The junior doctors alleged that while government schemes like Aarogyasri were being used to benefit private hospitals, government hospitals were completely neglected in terms of infrastructure and other facilities.

Meanwhile more deaths were reported from various government hospitals in the state. The number of patients who died in the last 48 hours at Visakhapatanam hospital rose to eight while 15 people died in Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad.