Medical services hit in Rajasthan following doctors' stir

The doctors' began the strike on Sunday protesting against alleged lathicharge on medicos in Jodhpur and it quickly spread to hospital in five districts, including Jaipur and Ajmer, official sources said.

With health services badly hit in the affected areas, hundreds of patients and their relatives were seen running from one ward to another in search of doctors for treating those admitted in hospitals, they said.

In Jodhpur alone, sixteen patients, including six children have died in three state-run hospitals, the sources said. However, officials at the State Medical and Health Directorate here maintained that the deaths were not connected to the strike.

Meanwhile, Health Minister A A Khan met senior officials and doctors to resolve the deadlock. In New Delhi, Union Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi described the stir as "very, very sad", while expressing concern over reports that several people had died as a result of the strike.

"Even one person should not die because of this kind of negligence and irresponsible behaviour of the doctors. Although Health is a state subject, I have asked my ministry to immediately look into the matter and get in touch with the state government," he said.

"People like doctors are supposed to save lives and I don't think anything could be as sad if someone loses his life because of the strike," he said. Trivedi said that the stir needs to be resolved through negotiations and dialogue.

Echoing similar sentiments, Khan said the authorities made a concerted effort to persuade the striking doctors not to continue with the stir as infections like swine flu and seasonal diseases were affecting the common man.

He expressed the hope that resident doctors like senior doctors will call off their agitation as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has promised to examine their grievances. A section of the striking doctors in Jodhpur had last night called off their agitation after authorities assured of a thorough probe into the incident.

On Saturday night, attenders of an injured patient Nemi Chand Mali allegedly misbehaved with resident doctors on duty at MDM government hospital in Jodhpur, official sources said.

A scuffle soon broke out between the medics and the kin of the patient following which police resorted to lathicharge to control the situation, they said. Demanding action against senior police and administration officials, private and government doctors went on a strike in around 40 hospitals in Jodhpur, while resident doctors have struck work in Jaipur, Kota, Ajmer and Bikaner.