Doctor Strike In Punjab

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TN Hindu Munnani to go on hunger strike against ban on Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations

Chennai, Sep 6 (IANS) The Hindu Munnani will conduct a hunger protest on Monday at Valluvar Kottam against the DMK government's ban on installing idols at the roadside during the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations.The BJP and the Hindu Munnani are up in arms after the DMK government announced that idols would not be permitted to be installed at roadsides and that immersion of these idols in water bodies was not allowed. The government in its order on August 30 said that this was to adhere to the Covid standard protocol and prevent the spread of the pandemic.This has not gone down well with the Hindu outfits, and the BJP Tamil Nadu state president, K. Annamalai questioned the wisdom of the government banning Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations while allowing TASMAC liquor shops to function unabated.The Hindu Munnani has announced that it would install one lakh idols at the residences and celebrate the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival. The Government has said that the festival has to be confined to the residences of the people. The organisation has also called upon the people to worship at Vinayakar temples and pray for good sense for the Tamil Nadu government to allow Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations.BJP state president K. Annamalai has also said that the party would conduct protests across the state against the DMK government's decision to ban installing idols at waysides.Hindu Munnani Tamil Nadu state president Kadeswara C. Subramaniam has said that the organisation would go ahead with the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations on September 10. He also demanded that the DMK government conduct talks with the Hindu Munnani leaders immediately.While speaking to IANS, Kadeswara. C .Subramaniam said, "The DMK government of Tamil Nadu is showing its true colours and is against the Hindu interests. The Hindu Munnani is conducting a hunger protest against the draconian policies unleashed by the DMK government against Hindu festivals and we will strongly oppose this across Tamil Nadu."The BJP has also raised the issue in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with party legislator M.R. Gandhi calling upon the government to permit Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations across the state.However, state Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department P.K. Sekar Babu in his reply said that the state government was only taking action on the basis of a circular issued by Union Home secretary Ajay Bhalla directing all states to take suitable measures to prevent crowd control and to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.DMK propaganda secretary, T. Sabapathy Mohan told IANS, "The BJP and Hindu Munnani are trying to politicise the issue. The government's ban is only for the welfare of the people and to prevent the Covid pandemic spread and nothing else. People know the real issues and politically charged issues and they will see through the plans of these organisations."--IANSaal/dpb
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Vice President calls for improving doctor-population ratio

Hyderabad, Sep 5 (IANS) Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for improving the doctor-population ratio in the country.He also underlined the need to improve the healthcare infrastructure and increase the number of medical colleges in the country.Addressing the 11th Annual Medical Teachers Day Awards of the Association of National Board Accredited Institutions (ANBAI) in Hyderabad, Naidu noted that in India, there is one doctor for every 1,456 people, while as per the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the doctor-population ratio should be 1:1,000.The Vice President called for focusing on improving healthcare infrastructure in the rural areas, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic has "reminded us of our responsibilities in this regard".He also called for increasing the number of medical colleges. He said to improve this ratio, the government is making efforts to establish at least one medical college in every district headquarter.He suggested that all stakeholders in medical education also play their role in this regard, highlighting the fact that a large number of doctors prefer to render their services in the urban areas as compared to the rural areas.Naidu said both medical education and healthcare should become affordable for the common man, and everyone connected with this sector has a responsibility to ensure this.Referring to the technological advancements across the world, he said the latest technologies should be adopted and state-of-the-art equipment be made available for diagnosis and treatment. He stated that the Covid pandemic has taught a lesson to all including doctors and scientists.Stating that medicine is one of the noblest professions, he said it should be the endeavour of every physician to play his role to uphold the values and sacredness of the profession. Young doctors and medical students should imbibe the ethics and high values of the profession and implement them in their day-to-day life, he added.Appreciating the yeoman service rendered by doctors during Covid pandemic, he said that they not only treated the patients but also gave counselling, confidence, and solace to them.Naidu was all praise for the ANBAI for its efforts to provide education based on highest standards. He said it was commendable that leading hospitals and medical institutions of the country came together to impart graduation in medical education through the ANBAI.The Vice President paid tributes to former President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on his birth anniversary which is celebrated as Teachers' Day. He called Radhakrishnan a great teacher and philosopher.Naidu said teachers shape the lives and careers of the students and especially in medical education, students have to be groomed to become great doctors. --IANSms/vd
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Punjab's Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital

Chandigarh, Aug 20 (IANS) Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Friday reviewed the progress of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at Medicity in New Chandigarh near here and was assured that the ultra-modern cancer tertiary care facility will be made operational by November.On her visit to the construction site, she was apprised that the ambitious project is in the advanced stage of completion, and directed all the departments concerned to extend all requisite assistance for its early opening.The Chief Secretary said the 300-bed state of the art hospital will act as a tertiary care centre for the entire northern region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh."The hospital will start radiotherapy, radiology, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, x-ray, mammography, medical oncology, chemotherapy, day-care ward, pathology and lab facilities, minor OT, besides initiating OPD services such as surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, palliative care preventive oncology," she said, adding these facilities will be available for public from November onwards.Taking stock of the works being executed at the hospital site, she said the Amarinder Singh government is fully committed to provide the best possible healthcare facilities to its citizens and the Chief Minister has desired to make this medical facility available to the people at the earliest.Mahajan said that the project, a unit of Tata Memorial Centre Mumbai, under the Department of Atomic Energy, is being set up with a sanctioned cost of Rs 663.74 crore in the built-up area of 40,545 square metres for which 50 acres of land has been provided free of cost by the Punjab government.The cancer care centre will be equipped with high-end diagnostic and treatment facilities such as two linear accelerator, brachytherapy, PECT CT, bone marrow transplant, CT simulator, MR simulator, interventional radiology and surgical facilities, besides daycare centre, ICU and recovery units, said Mahajan.It will be fully IT-based with electronic medical records facility, she said, adding that it will also be interlinked with all the Tata Memorial Centres located across the country.This will help the patients of this region to get online superspecialty consultation for managing various types of cancer ailments under the disease management groups, she said.Besides residential hostels for doctors and nurses and residential accommodation for faculty, the hospital also offers stay facilities for cancer patients in the specially-built 'dharamshala', she said.On completion, the project will not only make healthcare facilities accessible to the region but will also help in promoting medical tourism as the state government was developing Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali as hubs for medical tourism through various initiatives.The Medicity, which comprises sites for multispecialty and superspecialty hospitals, medical research institutes and housing facilities for doctors and other staff, in New Chandigarh, spreads over 250 acres in the immediate vicinity of the PGIMER.The Chief Secretary also said two state-of-the-art cancer hospitals have already been functioning in the state at Sangrur and Bathinda in the Malwa region.While the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Sangrur has treated more than 23,000 cancer patients till date, the advanced cancer diagnosis, treatment and research centre in Bathinda has cured more than 2,500 cancer cases since its inception.Mahajan also said that a tertiary cancer centre was also being established in Fazilka to further strengthen cancer treatment facilities in the state. "Major civil work has been completed and it is likely to start operation next year," she said.More than 65,000 cancer patients have been provided cashless treatment under the Mukh Mantri Punjab Cancer Rahat Kosh Scheme at various cancer hospitals in the state, she added.--IANSvg/vd
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AIIMS Officers Association warns of strike by month-end

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) The All India Institute of Medical Science may see its Officers Association going on strike by the end of this month to press for their demands, including cadre review "which has not been done for last 30 years".The Officers Association of AIIMS has submitted a memorandum to the AIIMS administration with their demands, saying cadre review has not been done since 1992 and the Health Ministry and AIIMS should seriously consider the matter.Officers Association of AIIMS President Ajeet Singh said that they have written many times to the Health Ministry in the past, but got no response. "Now the Health Minister has also changed, but our demands are still unanswered. We are requesting the AIIMS administration to undertake a cadre review which has not been done for last 30 years. Once the cadre is reviewed, the employees of Officers Association AIIMS can be promoted, but no consideration has been given so far," said.The association's other demands include the review of AIIMS's contribution in national pension scheme. Ajeet Singh claimed that other government offices contribute 14 per cent in the NPS, but AIIMS offers only 10 per cent.He also said that Delhi's AIIMS, Chandigarh AIIMS, and PGI Puducherry Hospital fall under the same category, but all are being given different pay scales. "A coordination committee was constituted in 2012 at Deputy Director level with Delhi AIIMS, Chandigarh AIIMS, and PGI Puducherry to solve such issues but all has gone in vain and nothing has been achieved," he said.If the AIIMS administration will not respond to our demands, we will go on strike by the end of this month, he warned.--IANSavr/vd
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Now, footwear hurled at woman doctor in Kerala, culprits arrested

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 15 (IANS) Attacks on doctors are continuing in Kerala, with a woman doctor the latest target, for insisting that two men arriving for treatment take off their footwear before entering.Anas and Samad were arrested by the Attingal police on Sunday after the woman doctor attached to a private hospital complained to police that she and a woman nurse were attacked by these men late on Saturday. Anas runs a bakery just opposite the hospital and both the youths had reached the hospital following a hand injury.Doctor Jaya Salini complained that both youths were drunk and when she asked them to remove the footwear before entering the dressing room, they abused her and threw the footwear at her. While she escaped unhurt, the footwear hit a woman nurse who was on duty at the time in the emergency room.Police said that both youths were in a drunken state at the time of the incident. They were produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody.Recently, a woman doctor was attacked at Government Fort hospital while she was on night duty. Dr Malu Murali told IANS said that two men arrived at the hospital at around 11.45 p.m. on Wednesday, "and when I enquired on the reason for the injury, they turned violent and hit me. My hands were twisted and one of them caught hold of my neck and kicked me. Even after I fell down, they continued to attack and were showering abuses on me".The men, Rafiq and Rashid, were history-sheeters. Police arrested them and they have been sent to judicial custody.In two other cases at Mavelikkara and Thaneermukkam in Alappuzha, doctors were assaulted on the issue of vaccination. In one incident, a CPI-M leader and his accomplices allegedly attacked the doctor and police are yet to arrest the culprits. Protesting the series of attacks, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) conducted a series of protest marches across the state.In another incident, a policeman attacked a doctor at Mavelikkara hospital alleging negligence on the part of the doctor led to the death of his mother. While the doctor and medical staff refuted the charges, the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA), an umbrella body of doctors working in government service, and the IMA are asking as to how doctors can work in such trying conditions.--IANSaal/vd
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Padma Bhushan awardee doctor calls

New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) As India is all set to cheer the 75th Independence Day on August 15, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee Dr Ashok Seth underlines the health agenda ahead."We should now consolidate on this trust and confidence to strengthen our four pillars of healthcare delivery ie. infrastructure augmentation at all levels, enhance indigenous manufacturing of healthcare consumables, greater government participation, and support for research and development, adequate education and training and support for healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses. This is the opportunity to sit on the same side of the table for all stakeholders, he opined." He said the Covid pandemic has brought together the public and private healthcare sectors of India who have worked shoulder to shoulder to fight the virus. "The Government has been commendably proactive with its policies and has successfully protected the huge population of India." Asked how the health infrastructure should take it further to provide treatment to every citizen including those in the lowest strata of society, Seth added, "Healthcare infrastructure needs to be augmented to a much greater degree at the primary care and district levels where standards of care and treatment for all diseases should be available at affordable costs. This is where 70% of India's population resides. The opportunity is there for more robust public-private partnerships".Talking about the doctor-patient relationship, he said, "While we increase the number of doctors and nurses coming out through our medical colleges, their respect, care, and morale are of utmost importance. HCWs are our most important healthcare resource."On the threat of a third Covid wave, Seth pointed out that the Covid waves are inevitable and will continue for some time and with regional outbreaks till the nation gets effectively vaccinated. However, the severity of the wave relates to how the virus behaves or mutates or how we as a public behave."Preventing the severe wave is in our hands. The Government and policymakers have worked diligently and non-stop for one and a half years to do all that can be done to protect us. It is also now our responsibility. Double vaccination, removing vaccine hesitancy, double masking when going out, not going out unnecessarily, avoiding crowding, hand sanitation, doing everything to avoid virus spread is now in our hands. We need to be responsible for ourselves and others around us to not spread coronavirus" he said."We need to unite to fight this single common enemy and together I am sure we will defeat it. Everyone should make this a 75th Independence Day pledge" said Seth.--IANSavr/bg