Chandigarh: Patients suffer as doctors’ strike continues at PGIMER
The premier health institute, which has a daily footfall of around 10,000, managed to attend to around 5,000 follow-up patients in various OPD departments from 8 am to 9.30 am, but no new patients were registered for OPD services
Lajwanti Vasudeva, a 76-year-old cancer patient from Panchkula arrived at PGIMER for her scheduled knee surgery on Tuesday, but had to return unattended as resident doctors’ indefinite strike continued for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
Lajwanti was among scores of patients, many of them from far-off places in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh, who helplessly bore the brunt of the strike.
The premier health institute, which has a daily footfall of around 10,000, managed to attend to around 5,000 follow-up patients in various OPD departments from 8 am to 9.30 am, but no new patients were registered for OPD services.
Besides this, no elective surgery was performed and indoor admissions were restricted to only emergency cases.
The resident doctors are on an indefinite strike, demanding justice for the 31-year-old trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.
Patients at receiving end
Lajwanti Vasudeva came to know about the strike only after entering Nehru Hospital’s gate. Having reached the hospital with her daughter on a scooter, she reached the hospital’s entrance with the help of her walking stand, only to find resident doctors raising slogans and protesting.
Holding her medical record in her hand, she sought clarity from a doctor. “I am a cancer patient, my daughter took leave from office and brought me here. We went towards minor OT, my name was there in the list of surgeries, but there was no doctor. They should have informed us telephonically,” said a frustrated Lajwanti.
Similarly, Neetu Sharma, a resident of Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, wheeled his mother’s wheelchair towards a cab after not getting attended. He shared that his mother was suffering from respiratory blockage problem and was asked to visit the hospital on Tuesday, but no doctor attended to her.
“We were given a 9.30 am appointment. We reached here at 8 am and till 1 we waited for the doctor, but in vain,” rued Neetu.
Karam Singh, 75, arrived at the hospital for leprosy treatment all the way from Uttar Pradesh, but could not get a single doctor to attend to him. “We started our journey on August 11, reached here last night and came to PGIMER on early Tuesday, only to learn doctors are on strike,” complained Singh outside the New OPD block.
‘No action, no medicine’
The PGIMER campus echoed with slogans “Jab tak karwai nahi, tab tak koi dawai nahi (No action, no medicine)”, “No safety, no duty” and many more. The resident doctors held a demonstration outside Kairon Block and also sat in protest at a tent near Bhargava Auditorium.
The strike announced by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), PGIMER, and Resident Doctors Association (RDA), Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, (RDA GMCH), affected the OPD services at both hospitals.
Only emergency services, including emergency surgeries and ICU facilities, were operational at PGIMER, with resident doctors handling critical cases. A total of 89 surgeries and 49,461 lab investigations were done.
A total of 5,168 follow-up patients were examined at OPDs, while new patients were sent back. The emergency and trauma OPD attended to 172 patients, and 137 patients were given indoor admissions (only emergency cases).
At GMCH-32, 549 new patients and 2,074 old patients were examined in various clinics of the hospital, apart from emergency and surgery cases.
Doctors at GMSH, Sector 16, also held protests on the campus, condemning the incident, and demanding justice and more protection for doctors.
Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh, said the heinous crime needed to be condemned. “We need to address the issue immediately and not wait for more such incidents to happen,” he said.
Dr Perugu Praneeth Reddy, senior resident, spokesperson of the strike at PGIMER, said, “Our major demand is to put the original culprits behind the bars. Secondly, we want the resignation of authorities, like the principal who tried to give shape of suicide to this heinous crime. Additionally, we demand Central Protection Act for the safety of doctors, which would make violence against healthcare workers a non-bailable offence with severe penalties.”
Dr Smriti Thakur, vice-president, ARD, PGIMER, said that the need of the hour was to increase safety and security measures at all hospitals, so that women can work any time of the day or night without any fear. “There have been so many instances where women colleagues have complained of bad touch in elevators. Several areas of the hospital need to be better lit, especially near the APC,” she demanded.
Immediate measures demanded by the protesting doctors include installation of CCTV cameras, more security guards, well-illuminated campuses, emergency call\apps for women, and immediate redressal of any incident of violence or abuse.