Patna, March 23: A strike by junior medics at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) and an indefinite closure of the medical college of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) dealt a blow to healthcare in the state capital today.

Emergency services at PMCH were paralysed as over 550 junior medics went on the strike, following an assault on two postgraduate doctors by attendants of a patient, who died early this morning.

Saida Khatun, who was suffering from a chronic kidney disease, was brought to the hospital from Gopalganj last night. Her condition started deteriorating around 3am and she died half-an- hour later. Her relatives alleged that she died because of negligence on part of two junior doctors, who were on duty in the medical emergency ward. The sources said Saida’s kin abused and attacked the two doctors with saline bottle stands. The two medics fled the ward, took shelter in a washroom and were rescued by a crowd.

The incident triggered protest among the junior medics as they gathered on the campus today. They convened a meeting and decided to go on an indefinite strike. They sought deployment of adequate security personnel and resignation of PMCH superintendent Dr O.P. Chaudhary. Amid all this, over 200 patients left PMCH as there was nobody to attend to them.

Principal secretary (health) Amarjeet Sinha said strict action would be taken against the law-breakers.“I have instructed the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police to go to PMCH and talk to the striking medics and the hospital administration,,” Sinha told The Telegraph.

On the other hand, the medical college at IGIMS was closed for an indefinite period after some PMCH students and All India Students’ Federation (AISF) members ransacked its premises this afternoon, protesting against a shootout late last evening. Two first-year MBBS students at IGIMS were shot at by some criminals on the hospital campus.

Institute director Arun Kumar told The Telegraph that the situation was normal this morning after two persons were arrested for being allegedly involved in the shooting incident. “Around 4.30pm today, a group of PMCH students and some AISF activists started protesting against the incident. Some of our students joined them and the protest turned violent. I ordered immediate closure of the medical college for an indefinite period,” he added.