Modify working hours and request Rohtak PGIMS employees

The paramedical workers, other staff members, students, and consulting physicians at Rohtak PGIMS are revolting over a government directive pertaining to consistent working hours at the institution all year round.

As is customary, the PGIMS Director recently modified the institute’s summertime operating hours for outpatient departments and other facilities by an office order.

With effect from April 1, the office order established the working hours as 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On April 2, however, the directors of Rohtak PGIMS and the other government medical schools in the state received a communication from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Haryana, requesting that they establish consistent working hours from 9 am to 4 pm all year round.

In accordance with the DMER guidelines and superseding his previous directives, the PGIMS Director issued a new order on April 3 directing a return to the previous times.

This incited concerns from the institute’s physicians, nurses, personnel, and students, who contended that the summertime heat would make the hours inappropriate for both the patients and the medical professionals.

Doctors and other staff members who are protesting have now requested a meeting with Dr. Kamal Gupta, the Haryana Health Minister. The committee’s joint secretary, Vikas Phogat, said, “We will continue to protest by wearing black bands while working, until we are called for talks or the orders are withdrawn.”