Services at OPDs, OTs in Delhi remain affected as doctors continue agitation

Delhi doctors join nationwide strike for justice, impacting hospital services; demand time-bound probe and Central Healthcare Protection Act.

Services at outpatient departments (OPDs) and operation theatres (OTs) across various government hospitals in the national capital were impacted on Tuesday as the strike by doctors’ associations entered the second day.

Several resident doctors’ associations (RDAs) in Delhi on Monday joined the indefinite nationwide strike called by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. The doctors’ demands include a time-bound probe into the matter, adequate compensation for the deceased’s family, and implementation of the Central Protection Act.

According to a report shared by AIIMS and updated till 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday, the OTs saw a 90% reduction in activity compared to the daily average. The hospital’s OPDs attended to 66% fewer patients than usual, laboratory services were reduced by 25% and radiological investigations by 40%.

An official at Lok Nayak Hospital said, “Emergency services were not impacted. However, the attendance at OPDs was reduced by around 40%, and elective surgeries saw a reduction of around 30%.”

Meanwhile, FORDA said that the strike will continue until the Centre guarantees the implementation of the Central Protection Act.

Dr. Ayush Raj, general secretary of VMMS and Safdarjung Hospital RDA, said, “We held a meeting with all the other RDAs in Delhi and decided to continue our strike. While the inquiry of the incident has been handed over to the CBI, our other demand, which is to amend and implement the Central Protection Act, has not been fulfilled yet.”

He added that emergency services will continue to remain operational while elective services might be strained until all their demands are met.