A junior doctor examines a patient outside the Patna Medical College and Hospital building on Monday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Junior doctors of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) — on strike since June 14 after a clash with a patient’s attendants — on Monday morning treated patients at a parallel outpatients’ department (OPD) on the health hub premises.

Over 200 patients, most of whom cannot afford healthcare at expensive private hospitals and clinics, were treated by junior doctors and given free medicines. The doctors, in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, also arranged for various drugs for the patients.

“This is a humanitarian service. We realise that many people are suffering because of the strike. But the government should also understand that our demands are not unjustified. We should be given a conducive environment so that we can serve the people,” said Dr Rakesh Kumar, a junior medic at PMCH.

The doctors have demanded better security at the health hub and removal of PMCH superintendent Dr O.P. Chaudhury. The state government, however, does not seem too sympathetic to their demands. Chief minister Nitish Kumar, at his janata darbar, said: “It is not wise on the part of medics to go on a strike when so many children were dying of acute encephalitis syndrome.”

The meeting between the PMCH doctors and health department principal secretary Vyasji on Monday failed to yield any result as the government remained non-committal about removing Chaudhury. The junior doctors were closeted in a meeting to decide their future course of action till the filing of this report.

PMCH principal Dr N.P. Yadav on Monday convened the first meeting of the committee formed by the health department to look into the charges levelled by Chaudhury, who was allegedly thrashed by the junior doctors in the paediatric ward of the hospital when he tried to intervene between clashing groups of medics and attendants of a patient on June 13.

Yadav later said: “We were asked to submit a report within three days but it will take a little more time.”