Healthcare services in Punjab, Haryana hit as doctors go on strike

Chandigarh, June 17 

Healthcare services at several government and private hospitals in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh were affected on Monday as scores of doctors stayed away from work in solidarity with their colleagues in West Bengal.

The doctors stayed away from non-emergency services in response to a call for a 24-hour strike by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against an attack on two junior doctors at a hospital in Kolkata last week.

At several places, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Hisar, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Chandigarh, the doctors also took out protest marches.

A protesting doctor said the fraternity is deeply saddened and disappointed by the ongoing impasse in West Bengal and the "lack of genuine initiatives on part of the administration there".

Doctors work for 15-18 hours every day and all they are demanding is a secure work environment, he said.

Dr Uttam Kumar Thakur, president of Association of Resident Doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here, said doctors at the hospital will stay away from all non-emergency services till the time the demands of their colleagues in West Bengal are accepted by the state government.

"We have decided to stay away from all non-emergency services for an indefinite period, till the time the West Bengal administration fulfils the demands of the striking doctors there and resolves the matter amicably with them. All services except emergency and ICUs will be restricted from Monday," he said.

"We stand united with our fellow doctors in West Bengal and request the administration to not underestimate our cause and movement," he added.

Patients were left exasperated as out-patient departments (OPDs) remained closed across hospitals.

"Those patients or their relatives who take the law into their hands should be strictly dealt with. While we understand the pain of the doctors, is it justified that patients who travel hundreds of kilometres to get treatment at the PGI suffer like this," an elderly patient visiting the OPD at the PGIMER said.

A middle-aged man who accompanied his ailing wife to a hospital in Hisar, Haryana, said, "Why should patients have to suffer like this. I have been waiting here for hours, but no one is giving any proper response. The central government must intervene in the matter as patients across the country should not be made to suffer." 

Junior doctors in West Bengal have been on strike since June 11 after two of their colleagues were attacked and seriously injured allegedly by relatives of a patient who died at the NRS Medical College and Hospital.

In a show of solidarity, medical practitioners across the country chose not to work on Monday.

The IMA, the apex medical body, has demanded a comprehensive central law to deal with violence against doctors and healthcare staff. —PTI