Editorial
Wild cat strike by interns?
Denial of service to patients reprehensible
THE 14-hour strike by the DMCH interns ended on Saturday, after the health minister and the health adviser had intervened to bring the striking doctors back to duty. The strike was called to protest the alleged misbehaviour by the relatives of a man who had died half an hour after his admission in the hospital.
Now this is the kind of action least expected of the men entrusted with the responsibility of providing much-needed medicare to people. The doctors, in their bid to protest what they deemed unfair, themselves indulged in activities which were a stark violation of the norms of their noble profession. Did they bother to think how the 14-hour strike would affect the people seeking medical treatment in the hospital? Report says over 2,000 patients, many of them in need of emergency medical assistance, were left unattended for hours. The doctors are reported to have dissuaded their senior colleagues from attending the patients and nobody was allowed to enter the hospital as the strike was on. What were the interns trying to achieve through inflicting such punishment on the innocent treatment seekers? And what right do they have to bring the country's premier public hospital to a complete standstill? We wonder how could they have enhanced their self-esteem by not serving the ordinary patients in need of their care. Evidently, the relatives of the dead man were under the impression that it was the doctors' negligence which led to his death. This kind of assumption was a matter for internal investigation and not something to be acting impulsively on. But the doctors' response has been grossly disproportionate as they even did not return the dead body to the relatives before a negotiated settlement could be reached with the health authorities.
Nowhere in the civilised world would anybody ever come across health service providers or doctors showing such insensitivity to the sufferings of people. The 14-hour strike is an example of highly irresponsible behaviour and lack of professionalism by the interns which they should endeavour not to repeat if they are to establish goodwill with the people. Punishing the innocent patients to settle scores with a perceived tormentor is not a doctor's job.
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