Hundreds of patients, who visited private and government hospitals in the city for consultations or follow-up treatment, went through a harrowing time as out-patient (OP) services and elective surgeries remained shut on Monday.

Clueless and dejected

Responding to Indian Medical Association (IMA)’s day-long nationwide protest against attack on doctors, elective services were closed from 6 a.m. Messages expressing solidarity with the protest and closure of OPD for a day were displayed on banners outside a few private hospitals. Many patients from far-flung districts and even several parts of Hyderabad were clueless about the strike call and waited anxiously at the hospitals hoping for medical services to resume.

“I did not know that the OP services would be shut today. I have been asked to come on Tuesday,” said Ramana Reddy, (58), waiting outside CARE Hospitals in Banjara Hills. He had undergone surgery in the abdomen at the corporate hospital around two months ago.

Rajashekar, who visited Yashoda Hospital in Somajiguda, complained that he was charged consultation fee, but the doctor did not turn up for two hours.

Another patient, Sharath, who was also at Yashoda, said, “I came here from Nellore (Andhra Pradesh) for treatment. But when I reached the hospital, I got to know they have shut OP services for the day. Now, I have to come on another day.”

Similar tales of distress were noted at government hospitals where patients from financially disadvantaged background seek treatment. A middle-aged woman from Warangal, Saraswati, who is recovering from a head injury, was waiting at Gandhi Hospital for her stitches to be removed for hours before moving into the waiting hall of the hospital until services resume.

At the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Osmania General Hospital, Government ENT Hospital and other city hospitals, too, a sea of anxious patients awaited OP services.

Kopu Narsamma, a patient suffering from abdominal distension, travelled from Ibrahimpatnam to NIMS to consult a gynaecologist, but spent the entire day waiting to see a doctor. Another patient, Mallikarjun, said he travelled from Khammam for follow-up consultation. “I have no other option but to take shelter somewhere till Tuesday,” Mallikarjun said.

(With inputs by Rudra Akshay Kumar)