Refusal to admission, long wait for check-ups as patient rush continues at govt hospitals
Times of India | 25 September 2024
Kolkata: The rush of patients continued at govt hospitals on Tuesday — the second weekday after the partial rollback of medical services — and they bore the brunt of the ongoing stir by junior doctors, be it refusal for admission or long wait outside OPDs since early morning hours.
The patients and their kin queued up outside the OPDs for long hours as a few doctors attended to them.Some had to return without treatment even after standing in queues for hours on end and they urged for complete resumption of medical services at the earliest so that their suffering would come to an end.
Tushar Bagh (36), a daily labourer from Bandel, had sustained severe spinal cord injuries after falling off a two-storied building at Bhadreshwar, which he was painting on Aug 20. He had been referred to NRS Medical College and Hospital from a local hospital two days later but he could not be admitted due to the cease-work by junior doctors. Bedridden at home for over a month he was put on medication. On Tuesday, he was brought to the SSKM Hospital’s trauma care unit but was denied admission.
His kin, Satish Malik, rued, “He underwent a CT scan showing that his spinal cord has been badly damaged. We came to the SSKM for his treatment but he could not be admitted.”
Habra resident Mrityunjay Biswas’ father had a cardiac arrest last night and he was referred to R G Kar from a Barasat hospital. “First we had gone to R G Kar where my father was not admitted due to non-availability of beds. We then took him to SSKM where, too, his admission was refused,” said Biswas.
Torikul Islam from Dhaka, who came to SSKM for his nerve ailment, stood for a check-up since 10 am. “My turn came at 4 pm,” Islam said.