OPD services hit across hospitals as doctors continue strike for 3rd day

A drop of 20% and 40% was reported in laboratory tests and radiological interventions like X-rays and CT scans, respectively

Outpatient department (OPD) services and walk-in consultations across hospitals in New Delhi took a hit on Wednesday as the strike by doctors’ association entered the third day.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, reported a 55 per cent drop in OPD services compared to routine days, while operation theatre services fell by 85 per cent.

A drop of 20 per cent and 40 per cent was reported in laboratory tests and radiological interventions like X-rays and CT scans, respectively. AIIMS generally sees a footfall of 10,000 patients every day.

A similar scene could be witnessed at Safdarjung Hospital and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, where OPD registration was impacted due to the strikes over the last two days.

This comes as resident doctors at all major government hospitals in the national capital, including AIIMS, Safdarjung, and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, continued to halt all non-urgent elective services on Wednesday, despite warnings by the administration against conducting protests on hospital premises.

The move to continue the strike comes even as the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Associations of India (FORDA), which had initially urged for a nationwide strike, called it off after meeting Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday.

In its statement after calling off the strike, the association said that a key outcome of the meeting was the health minister's agreement to form a committee with FORDA’s involvement to work on the Central Protection Act for healthcare workers.

“The ministry has assured that work on this will begin within the next 15 days,” FORDA said. The association added that its decision to end the strike, effective from Wednesday morning, was taken in the interest of the welfare of patients.

Individual RDAs, however, along with the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), decided to continue the strike until their demand for a written assurance from the government to adopt a Central Healthcare Protection Act is met.

An official notice from the health ministry for the formation of the committee is expected soon, a person in the know said.

“The committee will focus on the timely implementation of the act, aimed at ensuring a safer working environment for healthcare workers. Meetings for this initiative are set to commence within the next two weeks, with FORDA forming a delegation to participate,” FORDA added.