Cuttack: Patient care was affected at SCB Medical College and Hospital at Odisha’s Cuttack city on Wednesday as over 250 house surgeons launched an indefinite strike after a face-off with nursing staff of the facility intensified.
The agitating house surgeons alleged that members of the nursing staff misbehaved with them and refused to cooperate during work. Demanding action against the nursing staff, they also sought public apology from them for alleged ill-treatment.
The striking house surgeons, who had staged a demonstration on Tuesday over the issue, also demanded that a proper standard operating procedure (SOP) be laid down regarding work in the premier hospital.
They have decided to boycott general duties in outdoor, wards and OTs. However, they have agreed to provide emergency services in the hospital, sources said.
On the other hand, members of the nursing staff also made similar allegations against the house surgeons and decided to wear black badges while working for the next three days.
The nurses, who had also staged a protest on Tuesday, threatened to launch cases-work agitation from July 24, if the authorities fail to take immediate steps to resolve the issue.
As per hospital sources, the confrontation between the house surgeons and nursing staff began on Monday night over an argument between a doctor and a nursing officer while attending to a patient in the hospital’s medicine department.
As other doctors and nurses soon joined them, the situation turned tense and it became a major issue
Alleging that the nursing staff spread lies and damaged the reputation of the hospital and doctors in the media, the house surgeons staged a protest in front of the office of the hospital superintendent. They also demanded that the nursing association should apologise and refrain from giving false statements to the media.
Efforts by the hospital authorities to resolve the issue are yet to yield any positive result. As a result, healthcare services were severely affected at the hospital.
