Doctors strike force suspension of OPD services

Patients faced a tough time and OPD services were suspended in many Delhi hospitals, including AIIMS, as senior resident doctors and medical students called a strike today, protesting against the government's proposal to increase the MBBS course structure.
While some patients were turned away, others were asked to go to other hospitals, citing non-avaibility of doctors.
A 79-year-old Bhanumati Rani, who had suffered a leg fracture after falling down from the stairs in her house, had to wait for more than two hours before she was examined in the emergency of Lok Nayak hospital and then asked to go to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

"I had to wait for a long time before nurses attended me and then they asked me to go to RML hospital for treatment. They told me that I have to get admitted in a ward but then there are no doctors to attend me as they are on strike," said Rani, a resident of Rajinder Nagar.
23-year old Nasir who had come with a respiratory problem could not get a doctor to examine him.
Several patients, who had come from far away places for surgery and check ups, had to wait for hours at the RML.

"We have come for my son's surgery but now they are telling us to come on another date. We have already travelled so far this time," said Urmila, a resident of Dhampur.

The OPD of RML hospital caters to 3500 patients on an average per day while at AIIMS the number is much higher as it crosses over 10,000 per day.
"Our emergency services are and will remain functional," said Dr H K Kar, Medical Superintendent of RML hospital.
A senior resident doctor said, "We don't have any grudges with our patients and we are not happy to go on strike. But then the government has not been listening to our demands because of which we resorted to this path."
The hospitals, which are expected to keep their OPDs shut with only emergency services available, include several Delhi government hospitals including AIIMS.

Doctors from AIIMS, RML, Safdfarjung hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya have joined the MBBS students and have threatened to go on an indefinite strike if their demand to review the "prolonged" course structure of MBBS was not met.
The protest is against the health ministry's recently cleared proposal for increasing the duration of MBBS course from existing 5.5 years to 6.5 years with an addition of a compulsory one-year rural posting for admission into postgraduate programmes.