Patients visiting private hospitals heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday as out-patient department (OPD) services were restored to normalcy in all hospitals.
Doctors returned to work on Saturday after the State government’s assurance on Friday that it would do away with some of the stringent clauses in the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (Amendments) Bill to be tabled in the Assembly on Monday.
With this, the load on government hospitals — which dealt with a sudden increase in patient inflow during the last five days of the strike — was reduced considerably. The Health Department that had deployed mobile medical units (MMUs) at various places withdrew the service.
Rescheduled appointments
In Bengaluru, patients who were informed by phone or through an SMS that their appointments had been postponed, were called back and given the option to get an appointment fixed.
Laboratories and diagnostic centres also saw an increased number of patients. Home laboratory services, wherein phlebologists come home to collect blood samples, functioned even during the strike and saw usual appointments on Saturday.
Interestingly, at Ballari, doctors said that being a Saturday and amavasya (new moon day) — regarded “inauspicious” by some — the number of patients was less compared to other days.
Letter of praise
State Health Commissioner Manoj Kumar Meena has appreciated the services of government doctors who rose to the occasion during the strike and attended to a record three-fold increased patient load.
In a letter addressed to all the doctors, the Commissioner has congratulated the staff for their selfless service during the strike. “We hope you will keep up this spirit of service,” the letter said.
