Farrukhabad tragedy: UPPMS doctors to go on mass leave to protest FIR against colleagues

Lucknow: Doctors of Uttar Pradesh’s Provincial Medical Services (PMS) on Monday threatened to proceed on mass leave to protest the registration of an FIR against some members of the fraternity in Farrukhabad over the deaths of 49 infants in a state-run hospital. They said they would not report for duty on Tuesday and Wednesday and tender their resignation if the FIR was not withdrawn by 7 September. [caption id=“attachment_4000243” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Earlier in the day, officials said 49 infants died between 20 July and 21 August in the Farrukhabad district hospital, most of them from “perinatal asphyxia”, a condition in which the child cannot breathe properly. An FIR against the CMO and the CMS was registered last night in Farrukhabad, about 180 kilometres from the state capital. City Magistrate Jaynendra Kumar Jain and SDM Ajit Kumar Singh said a probe found that most deaths were due to breathing problems. They also said in the report that the CMO and the CMS did not cooperate with the investigation. Members of the PMS held a meeting in Farrukhabad and demanded that the FIR be withdrawn. They threatened to go on mass leave starting on Tuesday if their demand was not met. UPPMS district unit secretary Dr Yogendra Singh said, “The committee comprising the city magistrate and the SDM did not have technical knowledge. The probe report is wrong and it should be withdrawn.” He said the probe committee was a non-technical one and its “fairness and competence” should be probed. “We have decided to proceed on mass leave on 5 and September. If our demands are not met, all the doctors of the district will resign on 7 September,” he said. UP PMS Association president Dr Ashok Yadav told PTI in Lucknow: “The report on the basis of which the FIR was filed was prepared by non-technical people. A committee of experts should have been set up. This is an attempt to incite doctors, who are working in adverse conditions.” “The government should recall officers, who did not have any knowledge of probing such cases. They should be properly trained. We are monitoring the situation there and will decide our future course of action,” he said.