Patients at government hospitals were badly affected as the government doctors’ strike entered the third day on Sunday.
Even as Health Minister Aravind Limbavali appealed to doctors to end the strike, hospitals were functioning with skeletal staff, attending only to emergencies.
Over 94 in-patients at the General Hospital, Jayanagar were badly hit. While emergency cases were being attended to, there were no doctors to attend to surgeries.
Fifty-five-year-old Kalibai was waiting for a uterus removal operation but is on painkillers now. “The pain is unbearable and I don’t know how long I will have to wait for the operation,” she said.
Medical superintendent Saroja BG with Kishore, a gynaecologist and RMO and an OPD surgeon are ensuring treatment to inpatients.
“We have to put in extra hours to tend to patients. Many are leaving the hospital assuming the strike is indefinite,” she said. At KC General Hospital two doctors were attending to 39 patients.
Limbavali has convened a meeting on Monday to discuss the doctors’ demands. Transferring the administrative control of the 10 medical colleges from the medical education department to health and family welfare is one of their main demands.
“Abstaining from duty is a criminal offence. Do not put people’s health in danger. End the strike and come for talks,” he said.
President of the government doctors and paramedical staff association Dr H N Ravindra said they will attend the meeting.
“The decision to end the strike will depend on the outcome of the meeting,” he said. He said Medical Education Minister S A Ramdas had also promised to take up their demands in the cabinet sub-committee meeting.
With hospital kitchens also shut, poor patients could neither afford food at restaurants nor get home food since most of them lived in far-flung villages.