Health services crippled: After doctors, NHM staff too strike work

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, July 26

Medical services were badly affected due to the strike call given by the Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS) Association for the second consecutive day at government health institutions in Panipat and Sonepat districts today.

Double whammy

Besides doctors of Haryana Civil Medical Services, around 350 National Health Mission employees of Panipat and around 500 of Sonepat, including doctors, nurses, para-medical staff and ambulance drivers, suspended work on Friday.

The problems of the patients doubled as besides HCMS doctors, around 350 employees of Panipat and around 500 employees at Sonepat under the National Health Mission (NHM), including doctors, nurses, para-medical staff and ambulance drivers, too, went on strike today. The arrival of the patients, however, was very low in hospitals.

Amid the chaos, a woman delivered a baby on the floor of the emergency ward at the Panipat Civil Hospital.

As per details, Dinesh Kumar, a resident of Vikas Nagar, brought his wife Kanchan for delivery at the hospital. However, due to the doctors’ strike, staff on duty told the couple to go to a higher institute.

A source in the hospital said that it was a high-risk delivery as the woman’s haemoglobin level was very low and there was no doctor to manage the risk at the hospital.

As soon as the woman went from the maternity ward on the second floor to the emergency ward on the first floor, she started having severe labour pains. She lay down on the floor crying and delivered a baby at the gate of the emergency ward.

After people informed a nurse about the delivery, staff members rushed there and admitted her in the hospital. Dr Jayant Ahuja, Civil Surgeon, Panipat, said an inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

Apart from Kanchan, another expectant mother, Kamini, a resident of Noorwala, was admitted as she was in severe labour pain. No other new patient was admitted in any ward of the Civil Hospital.

Dr Rinku Sangwan, district president, HCMS Association, said no call was received from the government for talks, which was why the association had decided to continue the strike on Friday.

Civil Surgeon Dr Ahuja himself handled emergency services and check-ups of the patients. He said 11 doctors had been called from NC Medical College at Israna and some DNB, DRP students and consultants had been pressed into service at the hospital.

In Sonepat, all services, including emergency, postmortem, maternity, labour room, were badly affected today. Dr Jai Kishor, Civil Surgeon, Sonepat, said a total of 82 doctors out of 151 doctors were absent from duty in the district as per the biometric attendance. “We have requested help for some specialist doctors from the Khanpur Medical College, who would be available for patient care tomorrow,” he said.