Dehradun: In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the services of 1600 employees working in government hospitals in Uttarakhand ended on Wednesday. With no other option left, these workers may resort to protests as their jobs have been terminated. Such a mass layoff could bring the health system in jeopardy as the absence of hundreds of employees could compromise patient care. According to media reports, some hospital employees, including those at Doon Hospital, refused to work on their last day.
They are now demanding the extension of their service. Meanwhile, Ganesh Godiyaal, the district president of the Upnayal Employees’ Union, has written a letter to the MS expressing concerns over the impact of the layoffs on hospital services. In the letter, he has warned that if services are not reinstated soon, protests will take place. Moreover, it is reported that nursing staff is also not getting their contracts renewed, which may lead to their participation in the protests. It is said that employees will stage protests starting from Thursday wherever they were stationed before the termination.
Doon Medical College has suffered the most as the lab and wards have been hit hardest by the staff shortage. Outsourcing agencies are reportedly being called upon to provide more employees. The situation is dire, with one ward after another going unmanned and the burden of work falling on the remaining staff. It is clear that in such a situation…
