Delhi doctors’ strike: AIIMS gets 2,500 referrals

As the indefinite strike by over 20,000 resident doctors in the national Capital continued for the second day on Tuesday, the number of patients referred to the AIIMS crossed the 2,500-mark.

However, the resident doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have also threatened to join the strike if the issue remains unresolved. “More than 2,500 patients from different hospitals of Delhi have come to AIIMS in the past two days. In such situations, it is becoming difficult for us to attend to them, as already half of the senior faculty members are on leave as part of summer vacations,” a senior surgeon at AIIMS said.

AIIMS, one of India’s premier research and educational institutes, has around 2,200 beds and serves over 10,000 patients every day. He said that due to the surge in the number of patients, treatment in urgent cases was being delayed.

AIIMS Director MC Mishra said that a number of patients being referred to the hospital were <g data-gr-id="23">serious</g> but they had to wait for medical attention. “Looking at the situation for the last two days, it seems that if the strike continues for a few more days then there are chances that AIIMS will attend only the major referred cases,” he said.

Meanwhile, over 500 AIIMS doctors here will on Thursday join an ongoing strike called by Delhi-based <g data-gr-id="25">FORDA</g>, a senior resident doctor said. Over 20,000 members of <g data-gr-id="26">FORDA</g>, an association of 25 Delhi-based government hospitals, went on an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding adequate stocks of life-saving drugs, security at <g data-gr-id="27">work place</g>, fixed duty hours and timely payment of their salaries. 

Initially, the association had asked the resident doctors of AIIMS not to join the strike in the wake of likely problems such a move may cause to patients.