Hyderabad: Junior doctors at Osmania General Hospital boycott duties

Hyderabad: Two weeks after the junior doctors called off the strike at Gandhi Hospital, medicos at Osmania General Hospital boycotted duties over lack of manpower in COVID-19 wards. At least 30 junior doctors from OGH unattended the duties for two days and sent a letter to their department head on Sunday morning stating that they will not attend the duties until more doctors are deployed in the COVID-19 wards.

An appeal from the hospital superintendent B Nagender and general medicine department to the junior doctors to continue their services in the isolation wards was fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile, the hospital administration was worried about increasing coronavirus suspects and confirmed cases turning up to the hospital.

Around 15-16 junior doctors, house surgeons are handling the isolation wards, each ward consists of 40-50 patients.

Overloaded with the work, the junior doctors made a request on Friday to employ additional doctors and a circular was sent to all the departments seeking help. But no help was accorded as all the departments are short-staffed at present.

Dr B Nagender, superintendent of OGH said that 4-5 doctors of each department were infected with the coronavirus while many of them remained in quarantine. Due to the steady increase of coronavirus patients and lack of strength, the doctors working in the isolation wards were overburdened. He further added that senior doctors are being pressed into service to handle the situation and asked the medicos to give some time to work out the modalities.