Patients heave sigh of relief as CM ends week-long impasse
Kolkata: The patients and their family members who were not getting adequate treatment at various state-run hospitals, have breathed a sigh a relief after the junior doctors' meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ended fruitfully at Nabanna on Monday.
The patients also thanked the Chief Minister for playing a proactive role to resolve the impasse that had been created due to the unyielding mentality of the junior doctors to lift their strike.
Due to the prolonged strike by the junior doctors, the patients visiting various hospitals were the worst affected. Apart from the agitating junior doctors, many patients and their family members had also kept an eye on television, hoping that the doctors would call off their agitation and normal services would be resumed at outpatient departments (OPD) and the emergency wards of the hospital from Tuesday.
The OPDs at most of the medical colleges and hospitals remained shut in the past one week, as a result of which many patients from the districts had to return home without being treated. Even the emergency services were affected in almost all medical colleges in the city, bringing the health services to a grinding halt.
Ratan Biswas, a resident of Belgharia in North 24-Parganas whose family member has been undergoing treatment at NRS Medical College and Hospital, said on Monday: "It is a great moment for those who depend on the state-run hospitals. The situation would have got complicated further if it was not resolved in Monday's meeting. The Chief Minister has given assurances to meet all the demands of the junior doctors after listening to them with compassion. We are thankful to the Chief Minister for her gesture."
It may be mentioned here that the junior doctors' agitation has claimed the lives of five patients including two infants in the past one week. The death toll went up in the hospitals due to the unavailability of treatment. Two patients including a 3-day-old infant died in two separate incidents in the state on Saturday.
The family members of the deceased alleged that the patients died due to the lack of treatment caused by the prolonged strike of the junior doctors. Thousands of patients have been seriously inconvenienced in the last few days as well.
