Ranchi hospital nurses call off strike

RANCHI - Medical services improved slightly at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) here Sunday as the nurses called off a five-day strike after the state government accepted four of their six demands and promised to consider the other two.

The strike was called off after health department officials held negotiations with the nurses Saturday night.

Among the demands were wages as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission and a nurses’ service code.

The five-day strike had crippled the medical services at the hospital, resulting in the death of 45 patients.

The state government woke up to the demands after high voltage drama at the hospital Saturday evening. A 39-year-old kidney patient, Hemant Kumar, climbed to the sixth floor of the hospital building, tied a nylon rope around his neck and threatened to commit suicide. He was rescued by the police.

However, the strike by junior doctors continues.

The junior doctors went on strike Aug 19, demanding a medical protection act after some of them beat up Amit Mahto, a leader of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) Aug 17 when he had gone to meet a patient at the RIMS.

Mahto lodged an FIR against the doctors. The junior doctors, apprehending the arrest of their colleagues, went on strike.