Punjab: Patients bear the brunt as doctors suspend OPD for 3 hours
Punjab docs’ body says there will be complete suspension of OPD from September 12 onwards if the talks with the government fail
Government doctors in Punjab suspended outpatient department (OPD) services across the state from Monday for three hours in support of their demands, including assured career progression.
The protest, being held under the banner of Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association, hit OPD services for three hours in district and sub-divisional hospitals, and community health centres.
The union said that safety measures promised by the state health minister are yet to be implemented on the ground. Additionally, no formal notification regarding timely promotions, a key demand in the ongoing protest, has been issued by the government despite repeated meetings.
PCMS Association president Dr Akhil Sarin said the union had earlier announced the suspension of medical services for an indefinite period from September 9. “Instead of a complete indefinite shutdown, we suspended OPD services from 8am to 11am for three days,” he said adding that emergency medical services will continue.
Dr Sarin said the change in the call for the protest came in response to an appeal made by the health minister and an invitation for a meeting on Wednesday with the finance minister, who heads the cabinet sub-committee.
He said the protest was scaled down in public interest.
The PCMSA warned if no significant outcome emerges from the September 11 meeting and the promotion-related notification is not issued, a complete strike will be started from September 12. The assured career progression (ACP) scheme is a programme that provides financial benefits and higher pay scales to government employees.
Patients at receiving end in Bathinda
Health services in Bathinda and adjoining districts of southwest Punjab were affected on Monday as doctors of government hospitals went on strike for three hours in the morning till 11 am.
Patients were seen waiting outside the OPD block of Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital in Bathinda. Protesting doctors said the state government should depute security personnel at the OPD and other wards for the safety of the healthcare staff.
A doctor at the local hospital said there were several instances where attendants and relatives of patients manhandled the doctors on different pretexts. “Women medical practitioners and other female staff always remain scared of physical and sexual violence in the absence of security arrangements. The state government should depute an adequate number of guards,” said another doctor.
Long queues in Jalandhar hospitals
Health services remained crippled for three hours in all government health facilities in the Doaba region.
Long queues of patients were seen at the local civil hospital. Rajwinder Singh, who had come from Nakodar, said he had come to visit the orthopaedic department but came to know about the strike in the morning. “I had no choice but to wait for the strike to end to consult the doctor regarding my knee pain,” he said.
Another patient, Manjit Kaur, said it’s sad that doctors are also forced to go on strike for the fulfilment of their demands. “We are with the doctors as the safety of the medical practitioners and para-medical staff should be considered a priority,” she said.
Health staff struggles with backlog
Patients were left in the lurch in civil hospitals and other health centres of Amritsar district as medical officers went on strike for three hours and suspended OPD services on Monday in response to the statewide strike call.
The strike hit health services at the district-level Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital here. Patients, who were not aware of the strike call, reached the OPD only to find the doors of doctors’ rooms locked. They waited for services to resume. The medical staff found it difficult to control the rush of patients.
Dr Sameet Singh, the district president of the Medical Officers’ Association, said the strike will be observed daily till September 11 when the meeting with the government will be held. “If our demands are not met, the strike will continue,” he added.
Patients left in lurch in Patiala
The OPD services remained suspended at Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital with patients bearing the brunt.
Civil and district hospitals saw long queues of patients outside OPDs, many of whom learned about the strike in the morning.
Mehar Singh, a patient at Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital, said: “I arrived at 8 am only to be told that doctors were on strike till 11 am.”
In Hoshiarpur too it was a similar story. Local resident Harpreet Singh had brought his father Sukhwinder Singh to a government hospital for treatment of his swollen leg. Unaware of the doctors’ strike, Harpreet said he found himself helpless.
“Due to financial constraints I cannot afford private medical treatment and have no choice but to wait for the strike to end,” he added.
Another patient, Malti Marwaha (48) from Vijay Nagar in Hoshiarpur, shared a similar experience.
“The government should inform people in advance about the strike by healthcare staff, so patients do not waste time coming to government health institutions,” she said.
(With inputs by Vishal Joshi, Navrajdeep Singh, Karam Prakash and Surjit Singh & Agencies)