Noida: Planned surgeries have stalled, diagnostic tests are running behind schedule, and routine admissions have nearly stopped at Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) as a strike by around 700 contractual workers entered its ninth day on Tuesday.While emergency wards, ICUs, NICUs and labour rooms were operational, the disruption forced at least 100 patients to wait indefinitely for treatment or seek care at other hospitals. Those who have struck work include nurses, technicians, ward attendants and housekeeping staff.Durga Devi has spent the past three days at GIMS, waiting for her mother-in-law’s surgery. The patient, admitted for a uterus-related procedure, has been in ICU as doctors prepare her with blood transfusions and fluids. But the operation has been put off repeatedly.“She is ready for surgery, but there aren’t enough hands to support it. We have been waiting for three days. Nobody can tell us when it will happen,” Durga told TOI.For Ritesh, the uncertainty has stretched even longer. His relative, admitted for gall bladder stone surgery, has been waiting for nearly a week.“We thought it would happen in a couple of days. Now, doctors have told us to consider another hospital because they don’t know when services will normalise,” he said.Doctors said the strike has hit the hospital far beyond operation theatres.A senior doctor said only emergency and life-saving surgeries are being carried out. “ICU, NICU, emergency and delivery cases are continuing. But planned surgeries have stopped. Patients needing admissions for investigations, observation, fever management or routine procedures are facing the worst disruption,” he added.The impact is visible in diagnostics too. Mehmood, who brought his wife for breathing complications, said they reached the OPD at 8am. By 2pm, the prescribed test was still pending.“The doctor saw her quickly, but the test hasn’t happened for hours. They told us there aren’t enough technicians. She is unwell and we are still waiting,” he said.Doctors said surgeries depend on an entire chain of support staff — OT technicians, nurses, housekeeping workers and ward attendants — and their absence has broken that link. “A surgeon alone cannot run an operation theatre. Even blood collection, X-rays and routine investigations are taking longer because staff numbers have dropped,” a doctor said.GIMS officials admitted the crisis has forced them to refer many patients elsewhere.Brig Rakesh Kumar, director of GIMS, said the administration has approached the health department for temporary manpower support.“Doctors have been attending to OPD patients and essential services are on, but the shortage of support staff has affected hospital functioning. We are trying to arrange staff from nearby govt hospitals, including the district hospital, Child PGI and ESIC,” he added.The protesting workers have been demanding direct recruitment under GIMS instead of outsourcing through private contractors. They alleged salary discrepancies and a lack of job security despite years of service.“We worked through Covid and stayed with this institution in its toughest phase. But even now, our salaries don’t match what is shown on paper. We only want job security,” said Pratima, a housekeeping staffer.The workers said the strike will continue until they receive a written assurance from the authorities that their demands will be met.
