Bhubaneswar, 08 January (H.S.): Patients across Odisha are set to get much-needed relief as government doctors have decided to withdraw their statewide agitation, paving the way for the resumption of normal services at government hospitals.

The Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA) on Thursday announced the suspension of the agitation following discussions with the State government. With this decision, regular outpatient department (OPD) services at government hospitals are expected to resume from Friday.

The decision came after a meeting between OMSA representatives and Health & Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling, during which doctors’ demands related to service conditions and workplace issues were discussed at length. Following the talks, the Health Minister informed that the government has already constituted a high-level committee to examine the issues raised by the doctors.

Minister Mahaling assured that the committee would submit its recommendations at the earliest and reiterated the government’s commitment to implementing them. “Based on the assurance that the committee’s recommendations will be acted upon, the doctors have agreed to call off their agitation,” he said.

OMSA President Dr Kishore Mishra termed the discussions constructive and said the government had given positive assurances on several key demands. He expressed hope that many of the pending issues would be resolved by Thursday evening. “For the time being, we have suspended the agitation, and normal hospital services will resume from tomorrow,” he said.

With the strike being withdrawn, government hospitals across the State are expected to return to full functionality, bringing an end to the two-hour daily OPD shutdown that had disrupted patient care over the past few days.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda