Junior docs back at work but backlog leads to shortage of beds at govt hosps
Times of India | 6 October 2024
Kolkata: The return of junior doctors at govt hospitals did reduce patients’ waiting time for treatment or check-ups on Saturday but rush for beds continued, given the admission backlog created during the cease-work.
The queues outside OPDs at govt hospitals on Saturday moved faster than that on cease-work days, when junior doctors stayed away from work.
Sandeep Mehra, a Baguiati resident, who met with a bike accident near Bowbazar while heading towards his office on Camac Street, was taken to Medical College and Hospital with a leg injury. He received treatment in less than half-an-hour. “When I entered the emergency ward in the morning, junior doctors were present there. I did not have to wait much as one of the doctors attended to me and bandaged my leg. I have been asked to come for a check-up after 15 days. Had the accident happened even a day earlier, I would have had to face harrowing times as junior doctors would not have been around,” said Mehra.
Lalbahadur Shah from Muchibazar took his neighbour, a cardiology patient, to RG Kar after the latter complained of breathlessness. “I did not have to wait much as the queue was normal at the emergency ward. The doctors checked him fast and asked him to get an MRI done. But last Tuesday, when I had brought the same patient to the hospital, we had to wait for a long time before check-up,” he said. “However, if the doctors ask him for admission, our ordeal may start as beds are unavailable.”
But another cardiology patient Dilip Mondal, who came to RG Kar from Sandeshkhali, was not that lucky. He had to wait for at least one hour at the emergency and then, had to go to another hospital in the evening, seeking admission. His elder brother, Nimai, said, “The demand for justice should continue but not in the form of cease-work, which causes woes to patients.” Nimai was told that beds were not available at RG Kar and he had to take Dilip to NRS.
Several refusals for beds were reported at SSKM Hospital, too. Sagar Das brought his aunt Arati Das, a gastro patient, to SSKM from Barrackpore around 9 am. “The emergency ward doctors checked her and sent her to the OPD. We did not have to wait much for the check-up as junior doctors were at work. But despite them recommending admission, we could not get any bed there,” said Das.