Doctors run parallel medical services amid strike in UP

Doctors in Varanasi have started running a parallel Out Patient Department (OPD) centres in order to attend to the suffering patients while they continue their strike at the same time.

On Thursday, doctors were seen attending to the patients at the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

A senior doctor at the IMS at Banaras Hindu University, Om Shankar said that they shall continue fighting for their rights as well as serve the poor.

"Our work is to serve people and we are fighting for the poor, we want to ensure that the poor do not face any problem and that is why we are running a parallel OPD, but we are protesting as well as working, parallel OPD, emergency, ICU (Intensive Care Unit) is being run, we are not doing anything that causes problems to people," he said.

The stand-off started when a patient at a hospital in northern Kanpur approached Samajwadi Party leader Irfan Solanki, to be accorded preferential treatment by hospital authorities, but doctors refused to pay heed to the recommendation.

Later, Solanki walked into the hospital and a heated argument followed with the doctors. Some doctors allegedly attacked the legislator, resulting in head injuries to him.

As a result, police baton charged the doctors and many junior doctors were arrested in raids conducted in hostels after the incident. This led to resentment among the doctors and they called for strike in a few hospitals, which took a toll on five lives.

Meanwhile, doctors in Lucknow remained firm on their stand that the strike shall continue until the junior doctors are released.

"The strike is going on. We have talked to all the senior doctors. The strike is there in Kanpur too. Whatever happens in Kanpur, will be carried over here as well. The strike is going on there, as well as here, we are going to bring back the arrested students, if they are released unconditionally then we shall consider whether the strike should be called off or not," said a protesting doctor, Aditya Patel.

The doctors in Lucknow stood united and were seen wearing black bands around their arms as a mark of protest.

Meanwhile, patients continue to suffer due to doctors' stir that has hit health services in several parts of Uttar Pradesh.