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Medical services grind to a halt

Hospitals, nursing homes and clinics in Bihar were severely affected following the government and private doctors-sponsored 48-hour strike from midnight last night in protest against the banning of private practice.

The state government declared the strike illegal and invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act to prevent more than 12,000 service doctors from continuing with the strike. The doctors, however, went on a strike defying ESMA.

Official sources today claimed that emergency services in all the government hospitals were maintained by deploying doctors from different central government organisations and private and public undertakings.

Sources said none of the striking doctors had so far been taken into custody for defying ESMA. The joint action committee of the agitating doctors claimed that the strike was a total success as more than 30,000 doctors, including the service cadre and general practitioners, ceased work in the state.

The support by the junior doctors and members of the dental association had made the situation worse. The JAC claimed that it was providing round-the-clock emergency medical facilities at all the IMA centres in the state.

The patients in the state were facing a horrifying situation owing to the strike.

The people got some respite as most of the medicine retail outlets kept their shops open even as their association had announced support to the striking doctors.

UNI

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