The internee grievances may be genuine, but does it justify the action of the internees? The disconcerting feature that emerges from the incident is the overall poor picture of the management of the hospital. It would not be a far fetched assumption that the system has all but failed. It is disquieting to read that the agitating doctors were chased out by third class employees, indeed a dismal situation that can only occur when the system has collapsed completely. Chasing and counter chasing is a thing that must not be allowed in any institution far less in a hospital. Such incidents in our hospitals demonstrate the scant respect of the doctors for the image of a noble profession that they have taken oath to uphold, and also of the lack of commitment of the hospital employees who dispense succor to the infirm.

On the other hand we fail to understand why such a situation, where the employees have to go without their salary for such a long time, should come to pass at all. One fails to comprehend how the management of the hospital can endure such a situation. It would appear that the attitude of the responsible persons at the hospital is one of apathy, because the interns, according to reports, went on the rampage when the authorities failed to give due hearing to them when they approached the deputy director of the hospital with their problems.

When doctors are in physical distress it is the patients that suffer in the long run. Such a situation in a hospital is unwarranted. Not only should the root causes be addressed, those responsible for allowing the situation to precipitate must also be made to account for their failure.