Jharkhand State Health Services Association (JSHSA), a body of state employed doctors, has announced a phase-wise protest from this week to press for reinstatement and gradation of doctors. This was a result of a mass transfer order of doctors by the health department last week after 162 doctors were reshuffled. Sixty senior doctors, including civil surgeons, got demoted in the rearrangement and re-deployed at block health centres citing unsatisfactory performance. This move led to resentment among the state’s medical fraternity. “The move points to the fact that bureaucrats in the government have least regard for doctors and their seniority. It is an unfortunate step, which needs to be rectified,” said Dr Bimlesh Kumar, president of JSHSA, to Times of India.
The first phase of their protest will see doctors sporting black arm bands. The demonstration will be followed by statewide OPD strikes, dharna and complete strike. The doctors also threatened to mass resign on April 15 in protest against the ‘demotions’ of 60 of their colleagues.
Doctors in Jharkhand do not have any gradation systems and are delegated charges. However, the government’s move to strip a doctor of a higher charge and place them under juniors was condemned outright. Through the resignation, they hope to put pressure on the government to enforce a gradation system on the basis of years in service. They also have other demands such as reservation for doctors employed in rural health centres to postgraduate courses along the lines of other states and immediate implementation of Medical Protection Act (MPA), that will give them legal immunity from being heckled at the hands of patients’ kin.
