15 die in Patna hospital after docs go on strike

At least 15 patients died, several operations were rescheduled and health services remained affected when junior doctors of Bihar's premier Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) stayed away from work on Friday to protest assault on some of their colleagues by relatives of a deceased patient.

The Emergency and Out-Patient Department services were the worst hit with several patients forced to move to other hospitals for treatment. "More than 25 patients had to be refused admission while over 30 surgeries were postponed. Hundreds of patients were denied treatment," a senior hospital staff said.

Around 500 junior doctors of PMCH started their strike late on Thursday evening, after relatives of a 20-year-old patient, who was declared brought dead, beat up on-duty doctors and created a ruckus in the hospital. "The patient was most likely suffering from dengue. But when his attendants were told that nothing could be done, they started shouting and beating up the doctors," the staff said.

He added, "Some of the attendants had sticks and they even chased the doctors. The health manager, a staff and some doctors sustained injuries due to the incident."

Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey held a dialogue with the doctors on Friday, and following his assurance, the strike was called off.

The doctors have been demanding increased security at government hospitals for the last several years due to recurrence of similar episodes by angry attendants. "We have demanded immediate actions against those accused in the incident, besides deployment of forces and strict checking of visitors or pass system for visitors to limit their numbers," said Vinay Kumar, president of junior doctors' association of PMCH.