President of doctors’ association admitted to hospital after hunger strike drains him.
Kumar A had already thrown up thrice in front of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Jayanagar. Yet, he was not attended to even though the staff saw him in utter discomfort. Kumar’s relatives pleaded with hospital officials, who asked them to leave as they apparently were attending only to “emergency” cases.
“Is this not an emergency? My brother is half-conscious and he is in no position to be taken anywhere else. These doctors are inhuman. If my brother’s condition deteriorates, we will file a police case against the doctors,” said Kumar’s brother.
Services at government hospitals across the city were crippled on Friday as medicos (members of the Karnataka State Government Medical Officers Association-KSGMOA) have gone on a protest strike. At Sanjay Gandhi hospital, 148 in-patients have been left with only eight doctors.
“We have 26 nurses working today of the 96 on the rolls. Of the 70 group-D workers, 24 are working,” said Dr BG Saroja, superintendent of the hospital.
At KC General Hospital, patients have been suffering since Thursday night. With not even one group-D employee available, the toilets remain unwashed and the corridors are dirty. There is no one to even change the bedsheets of patients.
“I have been admitted for piles. There is no one to change the bag which is filled with urine. My wife is asking around for help, but no one has come forward so far. I have been in pain for over three hours,” said Muniyappa Dasa, a patient at KC General.
Eleven-year-old Nagrani was asked to come for a check-up of her broken arm at KC General Hospital on Friday. She had to return with the earlier dressing. Her mother, who had brought her, said, “We have been waiting since 9 am. No one has attended to her. We did not know there was a protest, and came hoping that her bandages could be changed.”
The hospital authorities also expressed their helplessness, and admitted that they could not do much in such a situation. “We have 177 in-patients. Of the 42 doctors, only two are on duty. We have three administrative staff also on duty. Of 90 nurses, only 30 are on duty,” said Dr RL Chandraprabha, the hospital superintendent.
CV Raman General Hospital in Indiranagar was also witness to a similar state of affairs. The hospital had only one doctor attending to about 60 patients. Only seven nurses were on duty on Friday.
Meanwhile, HN Ravindra, the president of KSGMOA, had to be admitted to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital on Friday. He was on hunger strike for three days. His health has deteriorated so much that he will now be shifted to ICU. About 4,500 doctors staged a protest in front of the health directorate at Anand Rao Circle on Friday.
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