Doctor protests disrupt services at Delhi's RML Hospital, patients face long delays

New Delhi: As nationwide protests by doctors continue over the alleged rape and murder of a trainee case at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, patients at Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital are experiencing delays in treatment. On Thursday, long queues formed as the hospital struggled with reduced staffing due to the ongoing strike.
Dr Ajay Shukla, Medical Superintendent at RML Hospital, said that they faced issues due to the influx of patients from distant locations.
"Our faculty are doing their best to attend to patients in the OPD, but due to the shortage of doctors, it's taking more time. Our elective operation theatres (OTs) are functioning, but compared to before the strike, there has been a decline. Emergency OTs are operating normally, but there is a 40 per cent reduction in elective OTs," he said.
Dr Shukla expressed hope that the doctors would end their strike soon, noting that the government has addressed all their demands.
"I appealed to the doctors yesterday to call off their strike. I hope it will be called off today as the government has met all their demands. The matter is also being heard in the Supreme Court, and the Chief Justice of India has also made an appeal," he added.
A patient at the hospital told ANI that his operation had been delayed for a long time. "Every time I come here, they delay the operation with some excuse. I have no place to stay and have to sleep on the street," he said.
Another patient, Rakesh Verma, who came for his 32-year-old son's treatment, said he had visited many hospitals, including private ones, without success.
"My son's hands and feet have swollen in the last 2-3 days. We have been going to government hospitals, but they are on strike. I even went to a private hospital, but there was no help. Where should I go now?" he asked.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry issued an Office Memorandum on Wednesday regarding the National Task Force, formed by the Supreme Court to ensure the safety of medical professionals.
The panel will be headed by Cabinet Secretary, Government of India as its Chairperson has been constituted following the Supreme Court's direction on August 20.
Due to the ongoing strike by resident doctors, services at AIIMS, Delhi, are severely impacted. OPD services are down by 65 per cent, admissions by 40 per cent, operation theatres reduced by 90 per cent, laboratory services by 30 per cent, radiological investigations by 55 per cent, and nuclear medicine by 20 per cent, as of Wednesday at 4:30 PM.
On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, sparking nationwide strikes and protests by the medical community.