AIIMS resident doctors on indefinite strike after faculty member slaps colleague

• AIIMS resident doctors have gone on an indefinite strike after a colleague was slapped by a faculty member
• The doctors are now demanding the resignation of Dr Atul Kumar
• They also said that Kumar must not be allowed to mentor the thesis or take exams
• He had reportedly "threatened he will fail candidates."
• OPD services have been hit due to the strike

The doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences went on an indefinite strike Thursday, April 26, after a faculty member is said to have slapped a resident doctor. The incident reportedly took place in front of other staff members, junior doctors, and patients, when the resident doctor was in the process of admitting a patient.

His colleagues are now demanding the resignation of Dr Atul Kumar, who is said to have slapped the resident doctor over the delay in completing the admission procedure.

"The doctor was in the process of admitting a patient when Dr Atul Kumar came for the rounds. He started scolding the doctor for not having admitted the patient by then," an unnamed doctor told Hindustan Times.

"That's when the doctor's phone began ringing and Dr Kumar lunged forward. The resident held his pocket to prevent Dr Kumar him from reaching it. That's when he was slapped and his specs fell to the ground."

In a complaint letter, the resident doctors of AIIMS have also said that Kumar must not be allowed to mentor the thesis or take exams as "he verbally threatened he will fail candidates." They have also demanded an apology from Kumar.

Due to the strike, the outpatient department is said to be affected and the hospital was forced to cancel the scheduled surgeries. Not just that, the hospital has also canceled all exams and academic activities.

After the incident, AIIMS released a statement and said that a committee had been formed to look into the matter. It also said that Kumar had offered to go on leave until the issue is sorted.

"An incident was reported wherein a faculty member had slapped a resident doctor in the AIIMS hospital," AIIMS said.

"The faculty member apologised repeatedly to the resident, immediately and today morning.The resident doctor wrote to the director, acknowledging the apologies...and requested that no further action be taken in this regard."

However, the doctors have said that this was not the first time that Kumar had harassed the doctors and added that they do not want to work with the faculty member. "We demand the immediate suspension of Dr Kumar because 150 residents of RP Centre said they do not want to work with him," HT quoted Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti, president of the resident doctors' association, as saying.

The director of AIIMS has now appealed to the doctors to call off the strike for the patients' sake. However, the Resident Doctors' Association told ANI: "We'll maintain only emergency and ICU services. The strike to continue till the doctor isn't removed from his post."