House surgeons of MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, stage a protest. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Cuttack, Feb. 6: Medical services were partially affected as house surgeons of all the three government medical colleges and hospitals went on an indefinite strike from today in support of their demands.

Nearly, 450 house surgeons of three hospitals — SCB in Cuttack, MKCG Hospital in Berhampur and VSS in Burla — have been demanding direct recruitment of doctors by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC).

The other demand is the revision of stipends. The doctors, while supporting a dynamic assured career growth, are opposing the mandatory requirement of serving a minimum of two years in rural areas.

The cease-work largely affected emergency services at the three hospitals.

The resident doctors shoulder bulk of the work starting from managing the out patient department to providing necessary treatment and issuing discharge papers. House surgeon and postgraduate students take care of the patients during night hours. Thus, the workload of professors and postgraduate students will increase due to the strike by the house surgeons.

“After preliminary treatment at out patient department today, we had to wait for nearly 45 minutes at the medicine ward to get the necessary treatment. Doctors present there were inadequate to meet the demand,” said Subhara Mohapatra, a patient from Jajpur, at the SCB Medical College.

The Junior Doctors’ AssociAtion, students’ union of all the three government colleges, including MKCG and VSS Medical College, have also extended the support to the ongoing cease work agitation by the house surgeons.

“Despite shortage of doctors, there is no regular appointment of doctors through OPSC. As a result, the house surgeons are being posted at various public health centres on contractual basis,” said SCB House Surgeons’ Association president Harekrishna Dhal.

In Berhampur, Mohan Behera, 63, a retired teacher of Lathi village and a patient of the medicine ward, said: “The professors, associate professors and assistant professors are nominal heads. They only suggest, but the house surgeons practically attend all the patients.”

“The strike will definitely affect the health services at MKCG,” said Ashok Kumar Behera, superintendent MKCG hospital.

The association had placed its demands before the officials of the health department. The association had staged a weeklong silent protest between January 27 and February 2.

“We want a hike in our stipend. It should be 60 per cent of an assistant surgeon’s salary,” said general secretary Bhismadev Meher. At present, a house surgeon gets Rs 400 per day and their allowance has not be revised for the past four years.