Staff lock up files in hospitals

HYDERABAD: Administrative work at the Gandhi and Osmania hospitals in the city came to a grinding halt on Tuesday due to the Telangana Sakalajanula Samme. However, doctors attended to the duties much to the relief of patients.Among those who struck work were the clerical staff and nurses. The situation at both the hospitals was such that not a single file could be moved. Dr BT Prasad Rao, superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, said, “The staff have not notified me regarding the strike and none of them attended to office work. I have asked for a notice so that I can report the same to my higher authorities.”Vasantha, superintendent, Osmania General hospital, said, “There is zero per cent attendance.  There are about 46 senior and junior clerical staff and 18 office sub-ordinates who have not attended today.”  He also added that he couldn’t take a single decision on any administrative work. “They have locked up all the files,” he exclaimed. Both the superintendents said medical services were not at all disturbed.The Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers unit of the Gandhi hospital held a protest on the hospital premises where about 45 staff members shouted slogans for Telangana. The state district president of Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers’ Union, Krishna Yadav said, “One of the reasons for holding a strike is to get funds for the betterment of the hospital. The King George hospital in Visakhapatnam and a few others get abundant funds. We need Telangana for our betterment. Only after that can we perform our duties well.”Nurses at the Gandhi hospital finished their duty hours by afternoon and went to extend their support to the strike. P Swaroopa, president of the Telangana Nurses Association (TGNA), Gandhi hospital, said, “We will wear black badges everyday and once we finish our duties by 2 pm, we will participate in the strike. At the same time, we will make sure that patients are not affected.”