By IANS,
Mumbai : Patients across Maharashtra were inconvenienced as hundreds of doctors went on strike Friday to press for better security and reduction in fees of post-graduate courses.
As many as 1,500 resident doctors went on a token strike. They were supported by around 650 interns in all government and municipal hospitals, who were also demanding a hike in their monthly stipend similar to what interns in other states receive.
“Resident doctors expressed concern over the government’s failure to implement the Doctor Protection Act and to protest the increasing fees for post-graduation courses in the state,” said Madhav Swamy, president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD).
The doctors also demanded that women interns and resident doctors be granted maternity leave.
“Close to 40 percent of our resident doctors are women and many get married during the long duration of the course. They should be granted proper maternity leave,” said Swamy.
“We want authorities to provide security for medical personnel as doctors are targeted frequently by disgruntled relatives of patients,” said Farhan Hamid, general secretary of MARD.