AIIMS paralysed: Doctors strike, patients wait

There was a constant stream of patients who came to AIIMS and were turned back. Those coming to the OPD had no choice but to hop across the road to Safdarjung. But for those who had come to the speciality units of AIIMS, there was no choice but to wait till the point when the doors were closed on them.

OPD: Ten-year-old Geetanjali arrived at the OPD of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS in the afternoon. Carrying the small tube attached to her mouth, she had come to get her daily dose of radiotherapy. 8220;She is totally paralysed on the left side and has to undergo 15 more days of therapy,8221; explains her mother. 8220;We had heard about the strike but thought the doctors might help us out8221;.

Well, they didn8217;t. The security guards did not let them get off from the auto-rickshaw, told them that the strike was on for real and sent them back to their Karampura home. Once the auto-rickshaw had left the OPD area was deserted. The 8220;over 6,0008221; patients that visit the AIIMS OPD every day had all been turned back.

The Cardiothoracic Centre: Two angiographies were done in the morning which buoyed the hopes of many patients. The result was a long line of people patiently waiting their turn even late in the afternoon. Most of them were from outside Delhi and have been consulting the doctors at the centre for some time.

Rajkumar who had come from Sirsa for his sister8217;s angiography said he had been asked to come on Monday. 8220;They gave us the date four days ago even though they knew there would be a strike.8221; The doctors did not disappoint him. The test did take place at 4 p.m. and Rajkumar was asked to get the various tests done on his sister. He said he was told that angiography would be done after the tests.

Most other patients were asked to come the following week or whenever the strike was called off. This included seven-month-old Nitin with a hole in his heart and whose parents had brought him all the way from Almora. They have been stuck in Delhi for a month now. An angiography had been done, followed by an ecocardiography. Now the baby waits for a date for his next ECG after which there will be an operation. 8220;Now there is this strike. We just came here to try our luck,8221; Nitin8217;s father said as he waited for the OPD to open.

Fluroscopy was done on some patients at the centre. Done only thrice a week, all the Monday appointments were kept. According to AIIMS spokesman B.K. Dash angiography and fluroscopy are done only by specialists and cannot be done just by residents. 8220;Hence only those patients already admitted in the centre were getting the tests done supervised by the specialists,8221; he said.

Surgery: No patient made it to the operation table today. In cases where operations had already been conducted and there were emergencies, the resident doctors were advised on the course of action.

Eye Centre and Cancer Hospital: While there was no regular OPD at the Rajendra Prasad Eye care centre, there was OPD in the morning at the Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital. But things were wrapped up another wing of the institute, which was, however, quickly wrapped up in two hours.

The day care centre at the cancer hospital administered chemotherapy to a few patients who had fixed up appointments in advance and to those already admitted in the hospital.

Thalessemia Unit: The day care centre for Thalessemia patients did not operate at all. It usually receives around 25 patients each day.