Patients face difficulties at Jaleshwor Hospital as doctors are on strike

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT,Mahottari, Oct. 19: Patients visiting Jaleshwor Hospital in Mahottari district are facing difficulties as the hospital’s doctors and staff are on strike.

On Thursday, after the hospital administration issued a notice stating that contract employees were not to work as their contracts were not renewed. In response, doctors and staff working on contract went on strike on Friday, causing significant distress to patients.

Meanwhile, 15 scholarship-based doctors and employees at the hospital were already preparing to stage a strike, claiming they had not received their salaries since the month of Shrawan (July/August). The hospital's operations came to a halt after the contracts of several employees were not extended. 

Patients arriving for check-ups at the hospital's OPD were frustrated as no doctors were available but the emergency department was still functioning. Those seeking orthopaedic and gynecological care, as well as parents who brought children for treatment, expressed disappointment when doctors were unavailable. 

Dr. Krishna Panjiyar, a contract doctor who is on the strike, said that they had not received their appointments or salaries since Shrawan. Additionally, the hospital administration had issued a notice that their contracts would not be renewed. 

He said that while they were open to discussions with the hospital management, they had decided not to attend to patients in the meantime. However, he assured that the emergency services were operating without disruption.

The hospital had issued a notice stating that adhering to the letter sent by the Madhes Provincial Ministry of Health and Population on September 20, the hospital administration could not extend contracts beyond mid-October. The letter from the ministry stated that the hospital could only extend contracts till mid-October and would need approval from the ministry to extend contracts further.

The notice also mentioned that if the current contract employees wished to continue working under the hospital’s rules, laws and regular procedures, they could apply to the hospital's employee administration branch, provided they agreed not to claim salaries or allowances until the contract was renewed. 

In a meeting held on Friday by the contract doctors and staff, they demanded further clarification on the matter. They warned that if no clear information was received within three days, they would hold another meeting to discuss further protests.