Endless wait for patients

BANGALORE: As government doctors resigned en masse, patients in various hospitals run by the state health and family welfare department were left in the lurch with no one to attend to them. Waiting for long hours and clueless about when the doctors will return to work, many patients were seen arguing with paramedical staff, who, along with a few doctors who stayed back to attend to emergencies, had to bear the brunt of it all. In K C General hospital, one doctor was struggling to attend to 50 patients in six hours. "They resigned? So what do we do?" many poor patients asked TOI. Long wait for anti-rabies vaccination Bitten by a pet dog, Jayanth AN, 14, came all the way from Chikkabanavara, north of Bangalore, to KC General Hospital, Malleswaram. But he was kept waiting for anti-rabies vaccination at the hospital's emergency section. Jayanth's mother Kousalya Arun said, "How do we know the doctors are not coming to work? Whatever may be the reason, is this a way to protest? We came running as the pet dog bit my son's fingers and it was not vaccinated. Here we have been waiting for hours. How can one or two doctors posted in emergency ward maintain an entire hospital?" 3-month-old bears the brunt For three-month-old Mohammed Mafaz, doctors' protest only meant no relief from cough, cold and fever. He had been suffering from persistent cough, cold and fever for a week and the local doctor's treatment hardly helped. The baby from Bamboo Bazar in east Bangalore was taken to Ghousia hospital on Friday but doctors were unavailable there because of Diwali. "We thought the pediatrician here may help us, but the nurse says all doctors have resigned. During Diwali, we could not meet the doctor and some other reason is being given now. My son has been suffering for over a week now. They say, go to some other hospital as persistent cough should not be ignored," said Nazni Sadaf, 25, the child's mother. Dengue patient shown the door His platelet count came down to alarming 21,000, as against the normal 1.5 lakh and above. Suffering from dengue, Shiva Kumar, a construction labourer from Solur village in Kunigal near Tumkur, was brought to K C General Hospital only to learn that doctors were unavailable and he should be taken to Bowring hospital. "We had admitted him to a private hospital and the medical bill was beyond our reach. So we brought to the government hospital. A nurse said that there was no facility for platelet transfusion and no doctor available to treat him. Hence, we are taking him to another hospital now," said Chandrashekar, a relative. Expectant mother runs from pillar to post An expectant mother in labour and admitted to Ghousia hospital on Sunday night was referred to Bowring hospital around 11.30 am on Monday in a critical condition. "We noticed she had a membrane leak and it could have caused foetal distress. The pediatrician in the hospital has joined the protest and we did not want to take chances. We sent the patient to Bowring Hospital to make sure that the baby survives," said Dr Nirmala Bai, medical superintendent, Ghousia hospital. The hospital that gets over 120 patients a day was almost deserted on Monday with staff nurses briefing patients about the lack of doctors. Hospital throws out woman in labour Jasmin, 25, was in labour but there was no doctor to attend to her at Ghousia hospital. Suggestions kept pouring in to take her to any other hospital. "We brought her all the way from Jindal Town, north Bangalore. And the staff at the hospital says there is no doctor. What does it mean? How can you avoid a pregnant woman who would deliver in sometime? Doctors at Ghousia hospital were treating her so far. Now would it not be difficult for doctors in some other hospital to know her condition and details and make sure she would have safe delivery? The hospital staff made the security personnel to send us out. Why don't the doctors understand their duties?" said a worried B C Latha, a garment worker accompanying Jasmin. -TOI