Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 18 (EMN): Despite state government’s directive to health officials in the state not to approve casual leave to healthcare professionals from April 18 to the 20th, the dates Nagaland In-Service Doctors’ Association (NIDA) had proposed to take mass casual leave, the protest began on Monday, affecting health services Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK).
NIDA had called for a three-day mass casual leave starting on Monday, a day after the state government’s one-year deadline to resolve the medical doctors’ superannuation age issue expired.
The protest affect NHAK’s operations on Monday as the out-patient department (OPD) remained closed while emergency services were opened for serious/severe patients. The state police personnel were also deployed at the healthcare facility.
Medical doctors at NHAK informed this newspaper that as per NIDA’s guideline and in response to the “failure of the Nagaland government to keep its promise of increasing the superannuation age to 62, all the in-service doctors in NHAK have applied for mass casual leave for three days”.
“We are forced to take this drastic step due to the failure of the government in solving this issue, even after waiting patiently for one year, as requested by the government. We have resorted to this step as a last resort, after exhausting all other avenues of dialogue with the government,” a doctor said.
Sources went on to inform that the already admitted patients in the ward and intensive care unit (ICU) were treated as usual by the doctors. Children's immunisation, Covid vaccination, and testing were also open for services, it added.
The emergency department and ICU will be open 24×7 to treat all serious cases and admit patients if required. Further, all consultants and doctors would be in the station and available to attend to any medical/ surgical emergencies arising during this period, NHAK doctors said.
About patients were availing services in the Emergency department until 2 pm when this newspaper visited the health facility. Priority was given to paediatric patients, pregnant women, and those who really need help.
While about eight patients were undergoing treatment in ICU and 20 patients in the ward, some patien,s who came for a re-checkup and OPD consultation, were sent home. But serious patients were sent to the emergency department.
At present, the total strength of medical doctors at NHAK is about 60, including contractual employees.
The doctors at the health facility also said that police personnel deployed at the hospital were wondering why they should be patrolling as their protest was "not a law and order situation" but a democratic protest.
A resident of the High School area, who came to NHAK for her daughter’s re-checkup, said that she was unaware of the mass casual leave. Her daughter, who is due for a re-checkup after three months, went home without the consultation.
Khrielievi Chusi, Co-convener of Core Committee Angami Students’ Union, said that volunteers were arranged at the government hospitals, primary and community health centres within the Angami jurisdiction, to see that patients are not at the receiving end due to the mass casual leave.
He said that the union is “observing” the situation and that patients shouldn’t be the victims. He added that the “government should not take the situation lightly”.
He was also of the view that it was “not necessary” for police personnel to be deployed at the hospital as NIDA is “protesting in a peaceful way”.