After a seven-day protest over alleged ‘manhandling’ of resident doctors in the State-run Minto Ophthalmic Hospital by activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), members of the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) Resident Doctors’ Association withdrew their agitation on Friday afternoon.
They relented after members of KRV, accused of manhandling doctors, surrendered before the police “in the interest of patients.”
The call for a 24-hour OPD closure on Friday, by the State unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (PHANA), in support of resident doctors was also withdrawn.
A group of 12 KRV members, including Ashwini Gowda, the main accused, appeared before the DCP South. They were arrested by V.V. Puram police and later granted bail.
“Although we had not manhandled any doctor, we surrendered because we did not want patients to suffer due to the OPD closure. We will continue our struggle for the cause of the victims of the botched cataract surgeries for whom we began the agitation,” he said.
BMCRI Dean C.R. Jayanthi, who assumed charge on Thursday, assured the doctors that their demand for adequate security on the premises would be addressed at the earliest.
Out patient services in several private hospitals across the State remained shut in the first half of Friday. However, emergencies were attended to.
Patients unaware of the strike were forced to return without consultation. In Narayana Nethralaya and M.S. Ramaiah Memorial hospitals, patients were being screened by staff at the entry gates, and were referred to the Emergency block based on the severity of their ailments.
Pallavi Prarthana, a cancer patient who had gone to Mallige hospital for a follow up, was asked to come back another day. “I had swelling in my feet, but I could not meet my doctor. I have to come back another day,” she said.
