BENGALURU: Even while the Indian Medical Association expressed solidarity with the striking doctors, several private hospitals kept their OPD services open on Friday. Some hospitals functioned with lesser strength in their OPDs. In places where the shut down was observed, uninformed patients were inconvenienced.
Varsha and her sister had accompanied their sick mother to Apollo Hospitals in Sheshadripuram. “We came from Banaswadi to show her ECG reports to the doctor. We did not know about the strike. When we called for an appointment they did not inform us either. In case of such strikes, junior doctors should be available at the OPD. For patients like us, they could have sent an SMS about the shut down of OPD.”
In some hospitals, nurses took the responsibility to look after OPD patients.
Jyothi Kumar got his 71-year-old mother to Fortis Hospitals in Rajajinagar. He decided on this hospital after finding that other OPDs are shut. “My mother collapsed on Thursday. I gave her insulin but she did not get better. Since nothing was available, I admitted her in this hospital in the emergency ward,” he said.
Kumar said he too was unaware of the strike. “They have the right to strike but they must do it differently. They could limit it to two hours or go to Vidhana Soudha instead of shutting down essential services,” he added.