Accident victim dies amid stir as senior doctors chip in with services
Times of India | 11 September 2024
KOLKATA: The absence of junior doctors in hospitals continued to affect healthcare services across Bengal on Tuesday even as reports poured in about an accident victim dying at a private hospital 11 days after he was turned away by multiple govt hospitals, including Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata, due to the ongoing protest by medicos.
Hooghly resident Sadananda Pal, 63, who met with an accident, died on Aug 29, days after undergoing a neurosurgery at a private hospital in Barasat.His death was revealed on Tuesday on X in a post by Trinamool, which read: "One tragedy after another - the human cost of doctors abstaining from their duty is mounting. This time, a man from Haripal lost his life after being denied the treatment he desperately needed..."
"We could not admit him to the hospital in Chinsurah. We took him to Kalyani AIIMS where no doctor was available. Around 3.15am, we brought him to Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata, but we were told he could not be attended to as the doctors were on protest," the victim's son said.
The junior doctors' absence is putting pressure on senior doctors who are struggling to put services on tracks. Even as the number of patients had dipped at the beginning of the agitation, the count is near normal at present. In the face of the increasing patient count, senior doctors' rosters have been redone in each department to ensure patients get services all the time.
While faculty members used to be available during night only when there was a call for a critical patient or a complex emergency surgery, many of them are now on duty for two days at a stretch. Most of them have not taken leave since the cease-work started on Aug 9.