Services hit at hospitals as govt docs go on strike

OPD shut at most hospitals, surgeries postponed

Patients suffered in government hospitals across the capital as medical services remained paralysed with over 20,000 resident doctors on strike on Thursday.

While OPD services remained shut at most hospitals, surgeries were postponed. Doctors say if their demands are not met they may go on an indefinite strike from June 1.

At the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Hospital, family members of a 70-year-old patient alleged the woman died as doctors did not attend to her. The hospital administration denied any medical negligence.

Patients who did not know about the one-day strike turned up at hospitals only to be sent away by doctors.

“My brother suffers from epileptic fits. My mother and I came to get medicines from here. Even though it was an emergency case, the pharmacies were not functioning due to the strike,” said Gauri, 18, an Azadpur resident.

The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Delhi went on a token strike demanding a better pay structure for doctors.

The federation includes doctors working at hospitals run by both Centre and Delhi government, and municipal corporations. However, the impact of the strike on corporation hospitals was less.

They doctors are protesting against the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC). Protesting doctors marched from Lady Hardinge Medical College to Jantar Mantar on Thursday.

The doctors have threatened to go on an indefinite strike starting June 1 if the Centre does not respond to their demands by Friday evening. The doctors claimed other states would also support them.

“FORDA is waiting for the Central government to respond to the demands by Friday evening, failing which we will launch into an indefinite strike from June 1. Doctors associations from across the country are planning to extend their support to us,” said Dr Pankaj Solanki, FORDA president.

Patients were sent away from hospital pharmacies as well and no free medicines were given. Doctors on duty tried to cater to pregnant women and accident victims on priority.

“Skeletal OPDs were run and routine OTs suspended. We tried to run emergency services smoothly,” said Dr Savita Babbar, medical director, at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.

Out Patient Department services also remained suspended at other government hospitals like Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

“Medical services remained adversely affected at the hospital,” said one of the medical superintendents at LBS Hospital.

“The OPD registration counters were closed before the usual timings. We did not keep any planned OTs scheduled for the day,” said Dr Punita Mahajan, medical superintendent, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital.

At RML Hospital, even emergency surgeries were affected, said doctors. A section of doctors, however, said they are opposed to the strike and described the stir as a “knee-jerk reaction”.

“The Centre is seeing into the demands. We do not agree to the reasons of the strike,” said Dr Rahul Bamal, a resident doctor at Safdarjung Hospital.