Even as resident doctors continued their protest for the third day, a senior medical officer working in the paediatric ward at the Sion Hospital was manhandled on Wednesday.
Relatives of a young girl admitted to the paediatric ward were allegedly angry that the doctors were drawing blood for several tests. “The relatives pulled the lady doctor Mansi Patil by the arm and verbally abused her. They also slapped her arm,” said one of the resident doctors at Sion hospital.
Hospitals wore a deserted look in Mumbai on Wednesday after word spread among patients about the resident doctors’ mass leave. While emergency services continued in most hospitals with senior doctors and interns attending to the patients, the Out Patient Departments (OPDs) were affected, and planned surgeries had to be cancelled.
In a show of strength, the 40,000-member strong Indian Medical Association (IMA), which has a sizeable number of private doctors, also came out in support of the resident doctors. The association declared that only emergency services would operate on Thursday.
Parthiv Sanghvi, Secretary of IMA, said, “More than 40,000 IMA doctors will be joining the protest in support of resident doctors’ fight for basic rights. The agitation will continue in government and private hospitals where IMA members are working. Only emergency services will be operational; OPD and elective services will not be available. We have contacted 206 branches of IMA, requesting them to support the doctors.”
For a while, it seemed like the healthcare nightmare for patients’ would snowball into a big crisis.
But as doctors across Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run public hospitals received notices following instructions from the director of medical education, the resident doctors began to buckle.
Several resident doctors decided to return to work after an assurance from Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan on their security concerns and the implementation of ‘two relatives with each patient’ rule.
Mahajan had given an ultimatum to resident doctors, warning them of suspension and loss of pay for six months if they did not resume work by 8 pm on Wednesday.
“As a safety measure, we will deploy 1,100 security personnel in the next 15 days in public hospitals. They will be between the ages of 20 and 25 and specially trained. The number of CCTV cameras will be increased and a security committee will also be formed,” Mahajan said. Government sanctioned Rs 33 crore for the purpose.
The IMA stuck to its stand, going ahead with the strike in support of resident doctors who remained on mass leave in their individual capacity.
Earlier in the day, the hearing on a public interest litigation filed in the Bombay High Court seeking direction to withdraw the strike could not be taken up as Chief Justice Manjula Chellur did not attend the court.
The PIL filed by activist Afaq Mandaviya that seeks withdrawal of the strike as poor patients were affected is now likely to be heard on Thursday.
Meanwhile, more than 20,000 resident doctors in Delhi’s 40 government hospitals have decided to be on mass leave from 9am to 4pm on Thursday protesting against instances of violence against doctors in Maharashtara.
Both in Delhi and Mumbai, the situation is going to be grim with all OPDs and other services being shut.
Delhi has been witnessing a steep rise in cases of assault on doctors. In the last 18 months, more than 40 cases have been reported, and in 20 instances, the doctors have gone on strike demanding safety and security in hospitals.
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 "Resident doctors protest")
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