JOIN USHundreds of private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics in Karnataka suspended outpatient services Monday on a call given by the Indian Medical Association to hold a daylong strike in solidarity with the doctors protesting in West Bengal.
The strike had a telling effect on medical services as people struggled to get treatment in private hospitals.
However, government hospitals remained open following a circular by the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare and there was a huge rush of patients at these facilities since morning.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy appealed to the doctors to attend to duty immediately.
"Attack on Doctors is condemnable; thousands of patients will be affected if Doctors are on strike. Already at several hospitals patients have faced a problem. The state government had issued a circular three days ago prohibiting the strike. Doctors should attend duty immediately," he said in a tweet posted in Kannada.
In another tweet earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy said the assault on anyone was unacceptable and requested the doctors to ensure that their protest was peaceful and did not cause any problems to patients.
The IMA did not heed to state Health Minister S S Patil's appeal to keep the strike symbolic.
"Almost all private hospitals and clinics have shut their OPD services. Emergency and pregnancy cases were being attended to," Karnataka IMA president N Dhanpal told PTI.
Prominent hospitals in Bengaluru which joined the strike included Apollo Hospitals, St John's Hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya and Sagar Hospital, Dhanpal added.
Suresh Shastry, the joint director in the Health and Family Welfare Department, said the strike had no effect on government hospitals.
Junior doctors in West Bengal are on strike since June 11 after two of their colleagues were attacked allegedly by relatives of a patient who died at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
In a show of solidarity with their counterparts in Bengal, medical practitioners across the country have chosen to keep away from work.