Doctors raise slogans during an indefinite strike against the termination of services of a fellow doctor at IGMC in Shimla
SHIMLA: Healthcare services, except emergency care, were disrupted across govt hospitals in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday after doctors went on indefinite strike, demanding the immediate reinstatement of Dr Raghav Nirula, who was sacked for assaulting a patient at Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) on Dec 22.There’s a video of Nirula brutally thrashing the patient, who is also seen kicking him while lying in bed, but RDA says Nirula’s side of the story hasn’t been considered and the termination is unjust.RDA president Dr Sohail Sharma called Nirula’s termination a “humiliation of the medical fraternity”. Doctors will not resume work until govt reverses the decision, he said. “We accept that there was misconduct, for which the doctor was suspended within six hours. However, terminating him within 48 hours based on the disciplinary committee’s report is not justified,” Dr Sharma said.Patients and their attendants visiting IGMC and Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities (AIMSS) at Chamiyana, in Shimla, faced hardship due to doctors’ absence. Several surgeries scheduled for Saturday had to be postponed.Health and family welfare minister Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd) said the issue would be resolved soon. He added that he would call the doctors for discussions once the CM returned from Delhi. “I always say doctors should not let anger take over. If they had quietly met the chief minister and apologised, saying it happened in a moment of passion, perhaps the entire matter could have been resolved,” he said.The minister assured that steps were being taken to ensure patients did not face inconvenience. Emergency services would continue as usual, and reports were being compiled on doctors attending duty, he added.Jagat Ram (70), a resident of Gadakufar, in Theog tehsil of Shimla district, said his prostate surgery scheduled at AIMSS-Chamiyana on Saturday was postponed. “Doctors advised me not to eat anything after 11 pm yesterday. But this morning, I was told the surgery could not be performed until the strike ends,” he said.The directorate of medical education and research issued SOPs to ensure uninterrupted emergency healthcare services.
