OPD services hit as docs start 2-hour work boycott

Outpatient department (OPD) services across state-run hospitals in Odisha were affected Monday morning, as doctors boycotted work for two hours over a host of issues, including filling up of over 50 per cent of vacant posts.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Members of the Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA) boycotted outpatient services from 9am to 11am, demanding that the government fulfill their 10-point charter of demands.

OMSA president Dr Kishore Mishra said the doctors have been agitating since November 20.

"In the first phase, the doctors joined work wearing black badges, and from December 26, boycotted the OPD service for one hour. They further extended the OPD boycott to two hours from today," he said.

"Emergency services, inpatient care, and surgeries will remain unaffected. Now on, OPDs will remain closed from 9am to 11am daily, from primary health centres to district headquarters hospitals," he added.