Resident doctors have stopped working at the OPD of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) from Friday, expressing solidarity with Dr Govinda KC's hunger strike.
The strike by more than 200 resident doctors has badly hit the TUTH's OPD service, forcing patients to wait longer for treatment. Only around 100 faculty doctors are now working at the OPD.
Dr KC, a senior professor at the TUTH, has been on a fast-unto-death since 22 March, demanding cancellation of a process initiated by the Tribhuvan University (TU) to grant the Institute of Medicine (IoM)'s affiliations to new medical colleges.
Dr KC, admired by many for his honesty and selflessness, says the IoM affiliations should be granted only after passing a new policy that outlines minimum criteria for medical colleges.
Last year when Dr KC went on a hunger strike for the fourth time, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala had formed a panel led by education expert Kedar Bhakta Mathema to recommend minimum criteria for new medical colleges. But, TU initiated the IoM affiliation process without waiting for Mathema panel's report, prompting Dr KC to go on his fifth hunger strike.
The TU has begun the process to grant the IoM affiliations to two new Kathmandu-based medical colleges. TU rector Guna Nidhi Sharma has revealed that the process was initiated as per written instructions of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and Education Minister Chitra Lekha Yadav. Koirala has reportedly said that he was pressurized by the UML, his party's coalition partner, to write to the TU. It has been reported that both medical colleges seeking the IoM affiliations have investment of some UML leaders.
Norman Lamichhane, general secretary of the TUTH's Resident Doctors Association, said: "We know he (Dr KC) does not want us to go on a strike. But, we were compelled to do so as his health condition is deteriorating quickly and the government is turning a deaf ear to his demands."
Lamichhane also said the government is solely responsible for the suffering of patients due to their strike. "He (Dr KC) did not start hunger strike without an ultimatum to the government, even we waited for five days before we stopped working," he said. "If any untoward incident occurs due to our strike, the government will be solely responsible."
Dr KC's hunger strike has not only caused a stir at the TUTH, but also across the country. Associations of doctors working at various institutes like Bir Hospital and BP Koirala Institute of Health Science have also expressed solidarity with Dr KC's demands and have warned an agitation.