Resident docs’ strike cripples services at Raj govt hospitals

Jaipur/Jodhpur/Udaipur: Medical services at govt hospitals across the state, including at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, remained affected on Tuesday as resident doctors went on a strike in protest against the alleged rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata.Elective surgeries were postponed and patients were sent home, while the number of surgeries performed in operating rooms decreased substantially. Also, recovering patients were discharged prematurely. Long queues of patients were seen at OPDs where senior doctors were seen managing OPD facilities in absence of resident doctors at Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Kota and Bikaner, among other places. Resident doctors, though, continued their service in emergency and ICUs in govt hospitals. OPD services remained disrupted at Udaipur’s RNT medical college. The majority of the tasks was taken over by senior doctors. In Jodhpur, the strike began at 8am with doctors of SN Medical College suspending work and AIIMS Jodhpur doctors joining the strike from 9am. Principal of SN Medical College, Arun Vaishya, confirmed that while OPD and IPD services have been affected, emergency and ICU services were being maintained to ensure that critical patients receive necessary care.In Jaipur, approximately 2,200 resident doctors are on strike, and an additional 250 senior resident doctors have threatened to join the strike from Wednesday. In response to the strike, SMS Hospital is prioritising patients who require urgent care and treatment. To mitigate the impact of the strike, the hospital has also made alternative arrangements. “We have asked govt for more doctors and we have received 50 doctors from the health directorate. But the strike has affected facilities and number of surgeries has reduced today,” said Dr Sushil Bhati, medical superintendent of SMS Hospital.Medical officers, senior resident doctors, assistant professors, associate professors, professors, and senior professors have taken on the responsibility of handling OPDs and surgeries. However, resident doctors continued to work in emergency departments and ICUs.A senior surgeon informed TOI they could only perform one-fourth of the surgeries they do on a routine basis. Patients who were admitted for elective surgeries have been asked to return when the strike is called off.Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD) has welcomed the Calcutta High Court's decision to transfer the doctor murder case to CBI. However, they maintain that their strike will only end when their demands with the state govt are met.“Other demands are pending for which the Federation of resident doctors association (FORDA), our national body, is protesting and demanding from Centre to bring Central Protection Act. But, here in Rajasthan, we will call off our strike only when our demands with the state govt are fulfilled. We demand from the state govt to deploy armed security in emergency in all the govt hospitals under medical education department,” said Dr Manohar Siyol, president, JARD.