Patients at the emergency ward at Patna Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Feb. 1: The health services at the two medical colleges in the capital remained paralysed for the second consecutive day today with the junior doctors refusing to budge from their stand of resuming duty only after the arrest of the RJD MLA Surendra Prasad Yadav.

The agitation of the doctors cost several lives at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). At least 30 deaths have been reported from PMCH alone after doctors went on strike from Monday.

There were very few new admissions in the emergency wards of PMCH and Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) today as those requiring urgent medical attention were rushed to private clinic and hospitals.

“More than 550 junior doctors, including those in pre-clinical and para-clinical services have been on strike since Sunday midnight. The strike has badly hit the emergency services and dozens of surgeries have been postponed. We have sought the help of the health department to cope with the situation and asked for doctors from various parts of the state,” said PMCH authorities.

The Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) convened a general body meeting on the PMCH campus today and its members unanimously decided to continue with their strike till their demands were met with.

“We want arrest of the MLA and immediate implementation of Medical Professional Protection Act (MPPA) in the state. Till the government agrees to our demands, we are not going to budge,” said Dr Virendra Kumar, a member of JDA, PMCH.

He said the bid of the MLA’s henchmen to threaten the agitating doctors at Gaya had strengthened the medicos’ resolve to continue with their agitation.

Two days after the incident, the RJD leadership today defended its MLA. Senior leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan said: “The juniors doctors are responsible for creating such a scenario in the Gaya hospital. They tried to kill our MLA when he approached the doctors to treat the Dalit lady in a proper way. There was negligence in the treatment of the lady.”

Caught between the allegation and the counter-allegation, hundreds of poor patients are suffering across the state. Sources said at least 150 patients were taken out from PMCH and admitted to private nursing homes in past two days.

“Those who have stayed back in the emergency ward are penniless. They cannot afford to go anywhere else. Today, there were very few admissions in the hospital. Those patients who are here are hardly being attended by doctors,” said a support staff of PMCH.

The PMCH campus was filled with distraught relatives of ailing people. Shambhu Singh from Begusarai could not stop crying.

“My brother met with a serious accident and doctors said both his legs will be amputated in a surgery. The surgery was to be conducted yesterday but now the hospital authorities are saying that they cannot operate upon him till the strike is over. I have no money for my brother’s treatment. I am helpless. He might die without surgery but I do not know what to do,” Shambhu said.

The junior doctors, however, had their own point. “We do realise that patients are suffering because of the strike. Why the government does not understand that doctors cannot work in an environment where their own life is at stake?” said Dr Kumar.