Relatives wheel out a patient from Patna Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Feb. 2: It’s as if someone has pressed the pause button on activities at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). Except the hapless patients, almost nothing has moved at the premier health hub over the past three days. The junior doctors are still on strike; the wards deserted.

The state government today sent a message to the junior doctors through PMCH authorities that efforts were being made to arrest RJD legislator Surendra Prasad Yadav, whose guards opened fire at Gaya medical college on Sunday night. But the medicos, on strike for the past three days, demanded the assurance from the chief minister or the health minister personally.

The medicos took the agitation path after two of their colleagues were injured in the firing in Gaya. They are demanding arrest of Yadav and immediate implementation of Medical Professional Protection Act (MPPA) in the state.

The principal and the superintendent of PMCH today communicated the state health department’s message to the members of the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) in a meeting. “The authorities told the agitating doctors that all efforts were being made to hunt the absconding MLA and to arrest him. The government is also seriously considering to implement MPPA to safeguard the doctors’ interest,” said a senior official of the hospital present in the meeting.

The JDA members admitted they had received the government’s message. But they refused to call off the strike immediately.

“We have told the authorities that unless the chief minister or the health minister meets us personally and assures us of both the actions, we will not resume our duties,” said Dr Virendra Kumar, a JDA spokesperson.

He said the junior doctors at the college were in touch with their colleagues in all other medical colleges in the state. “If the government invites us for talks, the representatives of all the medical colleges will take part in it. But we are not going to relent until our demands are met with,” Kumar said.

The doctors also took a dig at the media saying they were being portrayed as “villains”. “Instead of showing us as victims, we are being projected as criminals and anti-people. But no one is ready to understand that all we want is a law to protect us,” said Dr R.K. Sharma, a member of JDA.

Amid the standoff, the usual hustle-bustle of patients’ relatives was missing at the hospital. Nurses said there were about 50-60 patients in the emergency ward admit.

“There were only five new admissions today against 300 on normal days. Relatives are shifting most patients to private hospitals,” said a nurse on duty.

Attendants of patients alleged that senior doctors were not taking care of admitted patients.

“The surgeries are being postponed indefinitely. Officials are saying they cannot carry out operations even if it is urgent because of limited number of doctors at their disposal,” said Mamta Devi, whose sister-in-law is undergoing treatment at the hospital.