Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) Over 300 medical students and some junior doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital, on hunger strike since Tuesday demanding better hostel facilities, Wednesday decided to call off their protest, which had severely hit hospital services.
“We have now decided to go on a silent strike. We will now boycott our classes, but attend to patients and allow the opening of out-patients department from tomorrow (Thursday) as we don’t want them to suffer,” Karan Vats, president of the Students Welfare Association of the Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC), told IANS.

Students of the VMCC, the hospital’s medical college, complained Tuesday they were without drinking water, lifts and air-conditioning for the past two months.

The decision to end the strike was taken by the association after the hospital authorities held rounds of talks with the agitating students and resident doctors and urged them to resume OPD services and call off the strike.

The association members then held meetings among themselves to chalk out their plan of action.

“We discussed the problems that the patients are facing for the past two days. And considering that fact, we decided in the evening to end our strike,” an association member Bharat Mehta said.

Medical Superintendent N.K. Mohanty, meanwhile, promised the students that their demands would be met.

The protest hit the services at the government-run Safdarjung Hospital, one of the oldest and busiest in the capital, frequented by over 8,000 patients daily, mainly from lower income families.

“I have blood cancer and have to go through periodical blood transfusions. I was called by the doctor today for one session. Despite waiting for over four hours, I couldn’t see the doctor,” Harbhans Kaur, 74, told IANS.

“The OPD was closed and there was utter chaos everywhere. This is no way to protest… patients like me have to suffer for no fault,” she said.

Sunita, 33, who came from Uttar Pradesh, said: “I have severe chest pain and have been having problem in my spine too. But I couldn’t even get inside the hospital.”

Manish Gupta, whose elderly mother had suffered a hip fracture, was angry the way things were being handled by the hospital administration and the protesting students.

The resident doctors had also threatened to join the strike.