Bhubaneswar: The statewide agitation by government doctors in Odisha has been called off, bringing relief to patients across the state. The Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA) has decided to withdraw the strike following talks with the state government. Normal outpatient department services at government hospitals will resume from Friday.

Talks with Minister

The decision came after a meeting between representatives of the doctors’ association and Odisha health Minister Mukesh Mahaling. The discussions focused on the demands raised by doctors related to service conditions and workplace issues.

According to the Health Minister, a high-level committee has already been formed to examine the demands put forward by the doctors. The committee will examine the demands and submit its recommendations to the government.

“We have assured the doctors that the recommendations of the committee will be implemented. Following this assurance, they have decided to withdraw the strike,” said Mahaling.

OMSA president Dr Kishore Mishra said that the talks with the minister were positive. The government has given assurances on fulfilling the demands. Many of the demands are expected to be met by this evening. For now, the agitation has been suspended, and normalcy is expected to return from tomorrow, he added.

OPD services to function normally

With the strike being withdrawn, healthcare services across government hospitals are expected to return to normal from tomorrow. This will end the two-hour daily OPD shutdown that had disrupted patient care over the past few days.

Patients visiting medical colleges, district headquarters hospitals, community health centres and primary health centres are likely to get full services without delay.

Background of the agitation

The agitation was launched by the OMSA over a 10-point charter of demands. As part of the protest, doctors had suspended OPD services for two hours every morning, affecting thousands of patients.

The demands include parity with central government pay scales, abolition of the Level-15 pay structure, cadre restructuring, higher incentives for specialists and super specialists, and an exit policy for doctors serving in KBK and KBK-plus regions. 

Earlier, the state government had invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services.