New Delhi: Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) was imposed on residents doctors of Delhi government hospitals, who continued their indefinite strike on Tuesday and failed to resume work by 11 am as ordered by the Delhi government.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which yesterday accepted all 'genuine' demands of the agitating resident doctors, had warned them to end their indefinite strike as it was badly affecting the medical services here and resume work by 11 am today.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain had told reporters this morning that the AAP government has asked the agitating resident doctors to end their strike by 11 am today, failing which they will face action.
The warning from the government came a day after the AAP government accepted agitators' demands for proper security, accommodation and adequate availability of generic drugs in hospitals.
The doctors, however, decided to continue their strike.
The strike, which began on Monday and severely affected functioning in the 25 government hospitals in the capital, was the second protest by the resident doctors in the past six months.
The doctors had worn black badges in February for a few days seeking better working conditions.
The Delhi government yesterday evening issued a statement saying it had accepted all 19 demands of the resident doctors.
The resident doctors were on strike under the banner of the Federation Of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), an association of 25 Delhi-based government hospitals run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Delhi government and the central government.
A resident doctor said that even if they were convinced by the sincerity of the Delhi government`s promise to improve their working environment, they have to wait till the Union Health Ministry intervenes and pays heed to the problem.
"Only the Delhi government has accepted our demands but our association also has members working in hospitals run by the central government and the municipal corporation.
"We want that the demands are accepted by others also," a senior resident doctor, who works in Safadarjung Hospital, told IANS.
With about 20,000 resident doctors on strike, medical services were badly hit.
Intervening in the matter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed the health officials to implement the demands of resident doctors, calling them "genuine problems".
An official said shortage of doctors led to treatment of only 10 percent of patients in the Out Patients Departments (OPDs).
"It was not possible to deal with all the patients with resident doctors on strike. Senior doctors treated emergency cases and other patients needing immediate attention," an official of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital told IANS.
A resident doctor said Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain assured them better working conditions in February but no follow-up steps were taken.
A series of incidents in the beginning of this year had led to doctors to demand better security and working conditions.
An incident of physical assault on a doctor by the kin of a patient took place at Safdarjung Hospital. A similar incident occurred at the Delhi government-run Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital.
The striking doctors complained that pickpockets and thieves roamed unchecked within hospital premises, stealing patients` belongings and cash.
With IANS inputs
