Bhubaneswar: Patients across govt hospitals on Wednesday were inconvenienced as doctors ceased work to press for time-bound promotions and better pay. Many patients returned home without consultation as agitating doctors boycotted OPD and IPD services and attended only a few emergency cases.Long queues were seen outside hospitals, with patients and their attendants unsure about where to seek treatment. “I am suffering from typhoid and need urgent treatment. When I arrived in Balasore district headquarters hospital I did not find any specialist or any doctor, for that matter. When I asked around, a security guard told me that doctors had not turned up due to the strike. I am running here and there for help. I don’t know what to do,” Mamata Rani Singh, a resident of Remuna in Balasore, said.Patients from West Bengal, who often come to hospitals in Balasore, also faced difficulties. Some even travelled to medical colleges on ambulances and private vehicles, spending huge sums of money, while others opted for private healthcare facilities.The health and family welfare department deployed junior doctors from medical colleges to some district headquarters hospitals and other govt hospitals to manage the situation. “Contractual and Ayush doctors helped run OPD services at some govt hospitals. Some OMSA (Odisha Medical Service Association which organised the protest) doctors, instead of joining the strike, also helped treat the patients,” a senior department officer said.The doctors, protesting under the banner of OMSA, have demanded dynamic and assured career progression on a central scale, cadre restructuring, pay parity, filling up of vacant posts and protection for doctors on duty, among others. “We have been requesting the govt to consider our 10-point charter of demands but we have not received any positive response so far. Thus, we took this step today. We feel the pain of patients, but we are doing this because the govt did not pay heed to our demands,” OMSA president Dr Kishore Chandra Mishra said.Health minister Mukesh Mahaling said govt has been talking to the doctors and trying to resolve the issue. “We have appealed to the doctors to call off the strike and get back to work. Patients should not face any inconvenience anywhere in the state,” he added.(With inputs from Kisan Sahu in Balasore)
