BHUBANESWAR: Patient care services were affected on Saturday, mainly in medical colleges in the state, due to a strike by junior doctors, resident doctors, and interns as part of the nation-wide strike coordinated by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) over the rape and murder of a Kolkata trainee doctor.
Pradeep Kumar Sahu, 32, a resident of Deogarh, travelled around 250 km to reach Bhubaneswar on Friday for treatment of his rectal bleeding.After consulting with a doctor, he prepared his diagnosis reports from a lab and went to consult an AIIMS Bhubaneswar doctor on Saturday. But he could not find one due to the strike,” he added.
AIIMS Bhubaneswar receives around 4,500 patients on weekdays. As Saturday is a half-day, more than 2,400 patients come to the outpatient department (OPD) on previous Saturdays. But due to the strike, the number decreased to 1,260 on August 17.
“The departments did not take more patients on the day of the strike. The general medicine department of the national institute accepts at least 400 patients per day, but on Saturday it received around 100 patients. Many patients returned as they could not get tickets for OPD consultation,” said a doctor of the hospital.
Biswa Pradhan, 60, a native of Sonepur district, travelled to Burla with his wife on Friday for a check-up of his kidney disease. After completing an ultrasound check-up, he was waiting for doctors on strike. “I spent Rs 1,000 to come to Burla. I am waiting for the doctors to resume their duty. I can’t afford to spend another Rs 1,000 to return home. My medicine course is over. The pain will get worse if I don’t get checked up and restart the medication,” he added.
Official sources said hundreds of people are returning without check-ups as the protest continued for the second day at VIMSAR. Though the OPD was open, no doctors were available.
Patient care services were hit partially at MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, as the OPD was closed from Saturday afternoon. “The OPD service was closed in the afternoon due to the protest of the medicos. The emergency ward, however, was functioning as usual,” said Suchitra Dash, superintendent of the hospital.
Ghasiram Majhi, 60, a kidney patient from Nabarangpur district, was seen sleeping on the floor near OPD. “Due to the doctors’ protest, he could not consult with a doctor regarding his problem. The hospital staff told me to come on Tuesday,” he added.
Buduru Disari, 56, a native of Koraput, said he was unaware of the doctors’ strike and came for a check-up at SLN Medical College and Hospital at Koraput. “Now I have been told to come on Sunday,” he added.
“The OPD and casualty services have been closed due to the ongoing strike by the house surgeons and senior resident doctors. However, emergency services were available, and the operation theatre was kept ready to meet any emergencies,” said Susanta Kumar Sahu, superintendent of SLN MCH, Koraput.
A few private hospitals in the state have also taken part in the strike and stopped OPD services on Saturday.
However, patient services were not affected in primary health centres, community health centres, sub-divisional hospitals, city hospitals, district headquarters hospitals, and other govt hospitals which are not offering medical education.
(With inputs from Hrusikesh Mohanty in Berhampur, Satyanarayan Pattnaik in Koraput, and Priti Suna in Sambalpur)