Expressing concern over the “fight and strike” phenomenon gripping the state medical colleges, Indian Medical Association’s (IMA’s) Bihar chapter president Dr Arun Thakur on Sunday said the root of the problem was shortage of hands.

A day after being elected to the post, Thakur said: “There is lack of paramedical staff, medicines, equipment and even qualified doctors in medical colleges. The doctors are also human beings and are susceptible to mistakes. But they should not be beaten up. When patients and their wards accuse a doctor of negligence, it is quite possible that the same physician was busy attending to another patient.”

He also said: “Several persons, apart from a patient’s relatives throng hospitals. Most of them are neighbours of the ailing person. Mostly, they only create scenes in the hospital,” Dr Thakur said, appealing the young medics to resist from going on flash strikes and the state government to strengthen the infrastructure in the medical colleges.

The state in the recent past witnessed a series of strikes by interns at Patna Medical College and Hospital, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital and Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital. A fight between junior doctors and attendants of patients often snowball into medics’ strike, crippling the health hubs.

Dr Thakur pointed out that only 1,700 doctors were working on contract in the government hospitals of the state against the sanctioned strength of around 6,000.

“Under such a pressure, it is very difficult for doctors to perform at an optimum level,” he said, urging the government to regularise the services of the government doctors and fill up the vacancies.

“Even the medical colleges of the state have a 30 per cent shortfall in teachers and is always under the threat of de-recognition,” he said.

Dr Thakur also questioned the state health department’s decision on supplying generic drugs only in hospitals.

“The quality of generic drugs supplied in the hospitals is questionable. The government should contact reputed pharmaceutical firms and ask them to supply generic medicines in hospitals,” he said. Dr Thakur, who assumed charge of the organisation having around 7,500 doctors as its members in the state, said the government should consult the IMA before taking policy decisions related to health.

“The state’s health policies are ambiguous and populist. They result in less than optimum delivery of quality service to people. Sometimes the medical fraternity is taken for a ride,” he said.

Dr Thakur said prevention and treatment of diarrhoea among children, safeguarding interests of doctors, persuading the government to fill up the vacant posts in hospitals and strengthening the network of IMA would be some of his priorities during his tenure as IMA Bihar chapter’s president.