Duty first for government doctors

By Siva Sekaran  |  Express News Service  |   Published: 06th October 2017 01:36 AM  |  

CHENNAI: Can government doctors go on strike? Definitely not, the Madras High Court has ruled. Justice N Kirubakaran, who gave the ruling on Wednesday, also restrained post-graduate medical students and other students unions and federations attached to Rajah Muthiah Medical College and hospitals in Chidambaram from going on any sort of strike and refusing to give treatment.

“It is very unfortunate to note that doctors pursuing their PG degrees in the college, who are duty bound to treat the ailing patients, are resorting to strike on certain issues, which could have otherwise been sorted out either by negotiations or by approaching the legal forum.

“Even the educated elite members of the society are indulging in this kind of unwanted action. Then what would happen to the common men, if they face any problem?” the judge asked.
The judge was passing interim orders suo motu on a writ petition from Raju, a resident of Annamalai Nagar.

When the petitioner took his wife Bakkiya to the medical college and hospital for admission for delivery on September 18, no doctors were available for attending to her, as the PG students were on a strike.
Left with no other option, the petitioner, a taxi driver, had to admit his wife at a private hospital, wherein she delivered a girl on September 23.

Highlighting the problems faced by patients, the petitioner moved the High Cou rt for directing the authorities concerned to take appropriate action against the PG students and others. The students went on a strike demanding that they should be charged tuition fee on par with their counterparts in government colleges. Though other demands were put forth by the striking students, their main issue was with regard to treating their college as a government college.

The judge pointed out that the issue regarding whether the college should be treated as a government college or not was already settled by a division bench of the High Court on September 26 last year.
The bench had held that Annamalai University is not owned by the government and it is empowered by the statute to fix the fees and to demand and receive such fees, as prescribed by the Senate, the judge further pointed out.

There may be justification to go on strike. But there is a way to express grievances. The PG students, who are all already registered doctors having obtained an under-graduate degree in medicine, cannot conduct themselves as ordinary labourers or workers by indulging in strikes and refusing to treat ailing patients at an affordable cost. Because of the strike, poor patients alone are the sufferers, whereas the rich can afford to go to private hospitals, the judge pointed out.

The striking doctors are graduates in medicine who have registered with Medical Council of India. Out of the 211 PG students, 151 are in-service students viz, they are treated as goverment servants and they are sponsored for doing a PG course with government salary.

Similarly, the remaining 60 PG students are getting a stipend of `25,000 per month. When PG students are paid by the government, they cannot refuse to treat poor patients and restrain others from discharging their duties.

Every doctor has a legal and moral duty towards every ailing human being. The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, speaks about the duties and responsibilities of physicians. After making a declaration as per Appendix I only, UG doctors are registered with Medical Council, the judge pointed out and granted the interim injunction suo motu, even though the petitioner had not prayed for the same.

23 Raju, a taxi driver, filed the petition after his wife was forced to deliver in a private hospital on Sept 23.