Samastipur's Ram Bahadur Singh (56) did not have anything, not even water, from Tuesday night for a surgery at Patna Medical College and Hospital the morning after.
His "fasting" till 9am on Wednesday proved a futile exercise, though. He could not be operated upon on Wednesday because of the contract paramedic employees' strike.
The strike led to cancellation of several planned surgeries at the government-run hospitals. At PMCH, as many as 30 surgeries were planned for Wednesday but only eight were conducted.
Around 950 contract paramedical staff of the government health facilities in the state went on indefinite strike on Wednesday demanding regularisation of services. Operating theatre (OT) assistants, lab technicians, dressers and X-ray technicians were among the agitators responsible for the frustration of patients like Singh.
A teacher of a government high school in Samastipur, Singh was visibly disappointed after he was informed at the eleventh hour about the cancellation of his surgery. "Yesterday (Tuesday) I did not eat anything in the night. I did not have anything till 9am on Wednesday also and got my blood test done according to the instruction of the doctor. Yet, my surgery was not conducted. How can the hospital do this to me? It is very inhumane on the hospital's part to keep a patient hungry for a long period and then cancelling the surgery in the last minute. What if the paramedical employees have gone on strike? The hospital should have made some alternative arrangements," said Singh.
Like Singh, a 38-year-old woman who did not wish to be named looked agitated over the cancellation of her surgery in the last minute: "I was informed about the cancellation after the blood test. I believe the hospital administration must have been informed in advance about the strike of paramedics. Why didn't the hospital cancel the planned surgeries a day in advance?" she asked.
Hospital superintendent Lakhendra Prasad said: "Of the 30 planned surgeries, only eight were conducted today (Wednesday). But there was no effect of the strike on our clinical pathology and the radiology departments. We are getting the work done in both the departments by other employees."
Doctors of the hospital differed from Prasad. They claimed that the strike did hamper services at the hospital.
"Not a single surgery was conducted on Wednesday in the orthopaedic and neuro surgery departments. Such a situation did not arise even during the strike called by junior doctors and contract nurses. Today (on Wednesday), we all were helpless. OT technicians, who play a very important role in surgeries, have also joined the strike," said a doctor of the surgery department.
"The OT technicians take care of instruments used in surgery. They autoclave (sterilise) the machines before any procedure. The OT assistants provide autoclaved instrument to us for surgery. When we need some instrument during a surgery, OT assistants provide them. A surgery cannot be conducted without them," he added.
Another doctor in the surgery department said: "I have cancelled the surgeries slated for Thursday because of the strike of paramedical employees. I shall conduct them only when the strike is called off."
Hospital superintendent said he might seek help from the civil surgeon on Thursday.
