The Osmania Medical College strike announced for Monday will suspend elective outpatient and operating theatre services at Osmania General Hospital, with junior doctors, MBBS students and senior residents citing long-pending problems in training, infrastructure and working conditions. The Telangana Junior Doctors Association said emergency services and essential patient care would continue uninterrupted.
The association, known as OMC JUDA, said interns, undergraduate students, postgraduate residents, senior residents and representatives from every department would participate in the protest. The decision was announced on Sunday after what the association described as repeated representations and prolonged efforts to bring its concerns to the attention of authorities.
The planned suspension of elective OPD services and elective OT procedures is expected to affect scheduled, non-emergency hospital activity during the protest. OMC JUDA said the arrangement would preserve emergency care and essential patient services, distinguishing the action from a complete withdrawal of medical services.
In its statement, the association said deficiencies were affecting departmental functioning and the quality of postgraduate training. It said residents had waited for meaningful improvements for a long time and called for urgent, time-bound action from the authorities.
The concerns raised by the doctors extend beyond individual departments, according to the association. OMC JUDA said the protest was intended to highlight the need for a proper learning environment, stronger clinical training, infrastructure and essential departmental facilities. It also linked these conditions to safe and effective patient care at the government hospital.
The dispute places the functioning of a major public hospital within a wider question of how medical education and patient services are supported by institutional infrastructure. Residents said the purpose of medical education should not be reduced to completing duties without adequate learning opportunities, facilities and working conditions. Their statement described the concerns as matters affecting both resident dignity and the quality of care.
The association said its members had worked for years to earn their residency positions and serve patients. It called for serious consideration of the concerns and concrete action, but the statement did not specify a deadline for resolving the issues or identify individual departments responsible for the deficiencies.
Junior doctors from other government medical colleges in Telangana, including Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, had not decided whether to join the protest at the time of the announcement. Their position could determine whether the action remains limited to Osmania Medical College and Osmania General Hospital or expands to other government medical institutions in the state.
For patients, the immediate operational distinction will be between elective and essential services. Emergency care is scheduled to continue, while elective outpatient consultations and operating theatre procedures are to be suspended during the protest. Further official details on the duration of the strike and the authorities’ response were not provided in the association’s statement.
