Healers on strike: Patients suffer as doctors’ protest disrupts health services
Initially, resident doctors occupied the OPD hall, raising slogans. When they saw some patients attempting to enter, they sat on the 30-foot-long entrance stairs, completely blocking access.
LUCKNOW: A dejected Dulare limped out of the PAC (pre-anaesthesia checkup) room, clutching a stick in one hand and his wife Rekha Kumari’s papers in the other while an upset native of Bahraich was busy calculating the expenses he would have to incur for bringing his wife again for a check-up at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow.
Their evident distress stemmed from the fact that around 250 resident doctors, agitated over the rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata, staged a protest in the OPD block at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, even blocking entry to the OPD. An equal number of doctors were protesting elsewhere on the campus.
The doctors, raising slogans like “Hum sharminda hain ki tera katil jinda hain” (We are ashamed that your murderer is alive), voiced their anger in the OPD area where slips are generated before patients can see a doctor.
“What do I do now? No one here is telling anything, whether to wait or go back. If I go back, when should I come next?” said Dulare, who wasn’t the only one caught in this predicament.
KGMU’s clerical staff, who were not part of the strike, started registration process at 8 a.m., but with resident doctors raising slogans and disrupting work, many patients in the queue left, while those already sitting outside doctors’ chambers decided to wait.
Initially, resident doctors occupied the OPD hall, raising slogans. When they saw some patients attempting to enter, they sat on the 30-foot-long entrance stairs, completely blocking access.
The strike didn’t just impact the OPD; surgeries were also affected. In several departments, senior doctors postponed major surgeries that typically take over four hours, considering the absence of resident doctors. Minor surgeries were performed, and departments such as surgery, plastic surgery, and orthopedics rescheduled their major surgeries.
Dr. Hardeep Jogi, president of the resident doctors’ association trust, a body representing about 4,000 resident doctors in Uttar Pradesh, said, “We do not want to harm anyone, particularly patients, but we have no other option. We hope the government takes concrete steps to ensure the safety of doctors at the workplace.”
While the emergency department and treatment of admitted patients were not affected, the strike had a significant impact on outpatient services. KGMU typically receives up to 7,000 patients in the OPD and over 400 in the emergency wing on an average day. The hospital has 4,500 beds for patient admissions.
On Tuesday, a total of 4,929 patients received OPD slips to see a doctor. This included 3,535 old patients who came for follow-up. On average, about 7,000 patients visit the hospital on weekdays.
During the day at KGMU, medicine OPD saw 426 patients, cardiology 353, orthopaedics 226, nephrology 382, DPMR 106, psychiatry 294, rheumatology 243, general surgery 96, medical gastroenterology 59, CVTS 68, interventional radiology 2, trauma surgery 5, and structural heart disease 4 patients. Additionally, one person received a yellow fever vaccination at KGMU, according to data from the university.
At the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS), resident doctors reached the OPD block and announced the closure of work. On hearing the announcement and witnessing the agitation of the resident doctors, many patients left the campus, while several others sat outside the OPD block, hoping the strike would end soon.
Senior doctors who were scheduled to work in the OPD had already arrived in their chambers and began attending to patients, although the absence of resident doctors slowed down the process.
Resident doctors at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) continued their protest on Tuesday, condemning the killing of a resident doctor in Kolkata. The doctors are demanding justice for the slain doctor and are calling for increased safety measures for healthcare professionals across the country.
SGPGIMS faculty forum president, Amitabh Arya, and secretary Dr Puneet Goyal also joined the doctors in expressing their grief and anger over the incident. On Tuesday, the protest escalated as resident doctors boycotted all services except emergencies and trauma care. This boycott resulted in a significant disruption of regular medical services in the hospital, with no new patients being attended to in the outpatient department (OPD).
The protest at SGPGIMS is part of a broader movement within the medical community to address the rising concerns over the safety and security of doctors in India.
Meanwhile, in a show of solidarity, junior resident doctors and interns from Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital staged a protest. They, along with junior doctors from Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Hospital, wore black bands over their doctors’ coats.
“The Civil Hospital protest march was a brief and peaceful demonstration that began from Gate No. 4 of the hospital and circled around the premises to Gate No. 1,” said Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh, a junior orthopaedic resident at the hospital.
Director of Lok Bandhu Hospital, Dr. Suresh Kaushal, said, “Our hospital is yet to feel the pressure of all the patients who were turned away from the medical colleges. If the strikes continue, we may see the impact.” So far, there have not been any such demonstrations at Lok Bandhu. “However, the few resident doctors we have here are all sporting black bands on their arms in support of the issue during their work hours.”
In the Pathology department at KGMU, sample collection and report issuance were handled by clerical staff, who were present at the counters. Inside the lab, testing continued as technicians were on duty. While residents are involved in specific tests like histopathology, which typically takes 4-5 days to generate a report, the overall functioning of the pathology lab was not significantly affected.
At the diagnostic wing, CT scans and MRIs have been running under the PPP model; hence, the staff was present. However, work slowed down due to the absence of residents, who play a role in reporting. Some of the reports that were expected to be ready this morning were delayed.