Only patients and no staff could be seen inside a ward at Delhi's AIIMS hospital, the country's top medical facility, as nurses went on an indefinite strike citing a long list of demands including clarity on salary structure and a freeze on hiring on contract. The photo of a deserted AIIMS ward, widely shared online, reflected a frightening reality in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) today made an emotional appeal to the hospital's 5,000-strong nursing staff, which declared the strike in the afternoon.
