Covid patients shifted from hospital amid doctors’ strike

At least 23 patients suffering from Covid-19 were yesterday shifted out or discharged from a hospital after doctors decided to go on strike from today in protest against non-payment of salaries.
Authorities slammed the Delhi government and also warned the doctors of Hindu Rao Hospital of action.
Officials said while 11 patients were transferred to the state-run Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) from North MCD-run HRH run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, two were sent to Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital.
Ten were discharged.
The Delhi government’s move to shift out the patients was announced by Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain earlier in the day, who also slammed the North MCD for its “failure” to disburse salaries to the doctors for four months.
“The MCD should immediately pay the salaries of doctors who have made huge sacrifices during the coronavirus pandemic,” Jain said. The resident doctors of HRH have threatened to stop Covid services from 9am today if they did not get salaries due for four months.
However, responding to Jain’s statement, North MCD mayor Jai Prakash slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government and accused it of “playing politics” on the sensitive issue while “keeping the public in the dark”.
Prakash claimed that in June, after the Hindu Rao Hospital was converted into a dedicated Covid facility, the Delhi government had given in writing that all the expenses, including staff salaries, would be borne by the state government.
“But what the Kejriwal government is doing now is play politics on a sensitive issue of Covid patients’ treatment,” he alleged.
“The Delhi government has to pay the corporation Rs2,000 crore as its share of collected taxes. However, only Rs400 crore have been released by the government,” he claimed.
“They (Delhi government) could not even manage the affairs at the LNJP till Union Home Minister Amit Shah personally intervened. It is very unfortunate that Jain is giving irresponsible statements and hiding the fact from the public. It is just an attempt to tarnish the image of the corporation and destroy our credibility in the public’s eye,” Prakash said.
Referring to the doctors’ protest, the mayor said they were “behaving irresponsibly and maligning the credibility of the corporation”, warning that they could face action under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act for striking work.
“As many as 55,000 workers are employed in North MCD, whose monthly compensation comes to around Rs350 crore. Due to the nationwide lockdown, we did not get any taxes or revenue for four months. We are facing a tough time and have to now prioritise things to compensate everyone. For us, everyone is important. What if the sanitation workers stop the cleaning works if they are not paid? What if dengue-malaria workers go on strike in the absence of salaries? How will the pensioners survive without their pensions?” Prakash said.
“It is irresponsible on their (doctors) part to not do their duties in the face of a national emergency. The Epidemic Diseases Act is enforced in the country and they (doctors) cannot leave their duties and expect salaries. We have already cleared their dues till June and asked for some more time to clear the remaining dues. However, what they are doing is maligning the credibility of the hospital as such actions (discontinuation of services) have far-reaching consequences. They can be prosecuted under the Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Diseases Act as well,” he warned.