Argus News - OPD Services Hit In Odisha As Doctors Intensify Protest

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 5: Outpatient department (OPD) services across government-run hospitals in Odisha were disrupted on Monday as doctors under the banner of the Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA) intensified their agitation, boycotting work for two hours.

The doctors, who have been protesting since November 20, are pressing for a 10-point charter of demands, including filling up more than 50 per cent of vacant posts in the state’s healthcare system.

OMSA president Kishore Mishra said the agitation began with doctors wearing black badges, followed by a one-hour OPD boycott from December 26. From today, the boycott has been extended to two hours, between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., across primary health centres and district headquarters hospitals.

Mishra stressed that emergency services, inpatient care, and surgeries would remain unaffected. “No patient will be denied healthcare. Doctors will resume work after the two-hour boycott,” he assured.

Highlighting the acute shortage of medical staff, Mishra pointed out that Odisha currently has just over 6,000 government doctors against a sanctioned strength of 15,776. “This means more than half of the posts are vacant, creating immense pressure on the existing workforce,” he said.

The association is also demanding pay parity with central government employees, cadre restructuring across all grades, financial incentives for specialists and super-specialists, allowances for postmortem duties, and performance-based incentives.

Also Read: Odisha Health Minister Assures Action on Doctors’ Demands

Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling appealed to the doctors to withdraw their agitation, stating that the government was “sympathetically considering” their demands. He added that an inter-departmental committee had been constituted to examine the issues.

However, Mishra expressed scepticism, recalling that a similar committee set up by the previous BJD government had failed to deliver results. “We have no trust in these committees. We urge the Chief Minister to intervene directly and resolve the matter,” he said.

With OPD services now set to remain closed for two hours daily, the standoff between the medical fraternity and the government underscores the urgent need to address systemic gaps in Odisha’s healthcare infrastructure.