Thirty-six private hospitals and nursing homes in Mandya district and 30 in Ramanagaram closed their outpatient departments (OPD), and cancelled appointments on Friday to protest against the State government’s move to amend the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, (KPME) Act, 2007.
As many as 191 clinics in Mandya and around 90 in Ramanagaram district also remained closed. However, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the one-day protest did not impact the patients much as government hospitals were prepared to tackle the situation.
However, the OPDs at government-run hospitals witnessed a huge rush in both districts following the strike. Private hospitals put up boards informing the public that health services were on hold for a day to protest the amendments. But, the inpatient services and ambulance services were not affected.
“We were prepared to handle any kind of emergencies and had issued strict instructions to the doctors at the government hospitals,” Mohan, District Health Office, Mandya, told The Hindu.
According to the sources, several surgeries were also performed in government hospitals in both districts. Ambulances were also prepared to shift critically injured patients, in case of circumstances such as shortage of beds, to hospitals in neighbouring Mysuru and Bengaluru districts. But, no such incidents were reported.
Meanwhile, doctors staged demonstrations at both the headquarters to condemn the government’s move to bring changes to the KPME Act.