BENGALURU: Outpatient departments (OPDs) in government hospitals across the state were under significant strain after about 4,200 postgraduates, 2,500 government medical college interns, and 70 superspecialty resident doctors withdrew their services and began an indefinite protest from Monday morning.
The Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD), which represents government medical college interns, post-graduates, super-specialty residents and resident doctors, demanded a stipend hike and a reduction in college fees.
Around 700 members from KARD Bengaluru protested at Freedom Park, and the members alleged that the protest was a result of the state government’s persistent inaction and negligence, despite their repeated appeals.
As a result, non-emergency services, including outpatient departments and elective operations, were suspended across all the hospitals in the state including Vanivilas Hospital, Victoria Hospital, Minto Ophthalmic Hospital, KC General Hospital, and Bowring Hospital among other government healthcare facilities and teaching hospitals.
A senior official at Victoria Hospital said that while emergency services continue to operate normally, the OPD department is functioning under increased stress and pressure to ensure patients are attended to, and not impacted by the protest.
The official mentioned that postgraduate classes were discontinued as PG students were on protest site, and fellow and senior resident doctors have been redirected to manage the OPD department.
The doctors demanded an annual adjustment of their stipend to account for inflation. They argue that the last adjustment was in May 2020, and that since June 2023 they had been reaching out to the medical education department, however, no action has been taken. The protest concluded at 4 pm on Monday, with members confirming that they would resume from 10 am on Tuesday.