KATHMANDU, April 5: The Government Doctors' Association of Nepal (GODAN) said that government doctors across the country would halt all services except emergency from Friday.
The decision comes as a protest against the government's civil service adjustment, ignoring an agreement between doctors and the government. On February 15, GODAN had withdrawn all its protests following an assurance from the government to address their demands. However, the association has announced a series of protests for a week now.
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Doctors have been rejecting the government's plan to put them under the provincial and local governments and are demanding an amendment to the Civil Servants Adjustment Bill. The doctors want to be 'placed under the federal government'.
“We had postponed our second round of protests after the assurance of the Prime Minister KP Oli to address our demands. However, PM Oli didn't fulfill his commitment. Unless our demands are met, we will continue halting services at government hospitals,” Dr Dipendra Pandey, chairperson of GODAN said. “We will also submit mass resignation this time if our demands are not addressed.”
According to GODAN, there are 1,400 doctors working in the government health facilities across the country. A record of Nepal Medical Council (NMC) shows that more than 21,000 doctors are registered with the NMC.
