KATHMANDU HOSPITALS SHUT AFTER DOCTORS GO ON STRIKE

Hospitals and health clinics in Kathmandu were shut down on 28 December 2009 as doctors announced that they have gone on strike. The health professionals staged the strike to demand better pay and security from the Nepali government. Although all major hospitals have shut down in the capital, representatives of the Nepal Medical Association stated that rotating staff will be used to keep emergency rooms and intensive care wards open during the strike. Health ministry officials have assured the public that they are working to resume negotiations with the doctors and that patients' lives will not be at risk because of the strike. The doctors have complained that they are paid too little for their services and are subject to abuse from family members of patients who have died in their care.