As outsourced employees strike continues, PGI suspends elective surgeries, new registrations at OPD
Hospitals in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh have also been asked not to refer patients to PGIMER until further notice.
With outsourced employees of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) set to continue with their strike, the hospital has decided to limit outpatient department (OPD) services to follow-up patients on Monday from 8 am to 10 am.
No new registrations will be done and online registrations, those already made, stand cancelled. Scheduled chemotherapy in the day care unit will, however, continue as planned.
Additionally, no elective admissions will be made, and elective surgeries have been postponed, with patients being informed accordingly.
Hospitals in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh have also been asked not to refer patients to PGIMER until further notice.
The outsourced workers protest entered the fourth day on Sunday, severely impacting hospital operations. While OPD services remained suspended on the day, emergency, trauma, and ICU services continued as usual.
The outsourced workers’ core demand centres around unpaid arrears for hospital attendants, despite a ₹46-crore budget approved by the Union ministry of health and family welfare in April 2024. This budget had been earmarked to settle arrears for other contractual staff, including sanitary attendants, kitchen workers, and security guards. While these workers were paid in January 2024, hospital attendants were excluded from the payout, causing frustration and leading to the strike.
Union leaders had warned the administration weeks earlier of potential action if the arrears were not settled by October 10.
PGIMER director Prof Vivek Lal said, “We understand the concerns of our outsourced workers and acknowledge the importance of their roles within the institution. Our primary focus is on patient care and safety, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of healthcare during this challenging period. We are open to dialogue and are actively engaging with all stakeholders to resolve the matter amicably.”
“We commend voluntary organisations like Vishav Manav Ruhani Kendra, Nawan Nagar, Sukh Foundation and Rotaract and NSS student volunteers for their significant contributions and invaluable role in ensuring that patient care remains uninterrupted,” he added.
Cleaning, sanitation, laundry, procuring medicines, and materials from stores, moving patients with oxygen cylinders to different areas of the hospitals, opening different departments of the hospital, giving medicines to patients, sorting files and registration cards in OPDs, diet distribution are among the many tasks the outsourced employees carry out.
