Mumbai: As the IMA in the state and MARD called off their strike on Thursday in the aftermath of high court directions, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) said it was continuing with homeopath registrations and even considering a new QR-coded certificate to verify credentials.There have been no new registrations after the first one on Tuesday, of homeopath Neha Pawar, who has a clinic in Mankhurd. “The new registration certificates would be similar to the ‘know your doctor’ initiative for MBBS doctors; we are adding more technical details to it,” said Dr Vinky Rughwani, MMC administrator.Even as the strike was called off, there was an impact on health services throughout the day. Severe disruptions were felt in the surgery departments as elective procedures were put on hold.At JJ Hospital, just 16 major surgeries and 27 minor surgeries were performed, as opposed to the daily averages of 39 and 57, respectively. A similar situation played out at four BMC-run hospitals.According to Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) president Dr Atharva Shinde, the association was unable to arrange legal representation on short notice for the suo motu hearing, and he had to present the arguments before the court himself, unlike the IMA, which had its lawyer.He said MARD will continue its protest, though the exact form of the protest will be decided on Friday. “We have thousands of resident doctors whose lives will be impacted by the further course of action; we need some time to decide. That said, we are still firm that our actions have been in the interest of the health of the common people,” said Dr Shinde.In a statement to the press, MARD said it was not inclined to withdraw the ongoing agitation at this stage. “This decision has been taken exclusively out of respect for the hon’ble high court and should not be interpreted as a dilution of our stand or demands,” the statement said.Doctors from various associations have been on strike since Tuesday after a GR issued on Monday allowed homeopaths to prescribe modern medicines upon completing a one-year certificate course in pharmacology under MUHS.“The court has said doctors just cannot go on strike. This will be further evaluated in the next hearing,” said Dr Shinde.
