Patients suffer as junior doctors' strike in Patna continuesIndia News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Patients here are suffering as the Government and other hospitals in Patna are over crowded due to the junior doctors strike over pay hike. A common sight at the Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) is of senior doctors attending patients lying on the floor since there are no vacant beds in the wards. "We are under a lot of pressure. We are doing our best in treating as many patients as possible. We used to treat 40-50 patients a day. Now, we are seeing 90 patients a day. All the 40 emergency beds are occupied. Patients are now being admitted and even made to lie on the floor," said Dr Rajendra Narayan Prasad, in-charge of emergency ward at the Nalanda Medical College Hospital. "There were no arrangements at the PMCH. The doctors are on strike and they asked us to take our patients somewhere else. Then we came here in the NMCH, but here it's so crowded," said Jetendra Kumar, relative of a patient. Emergency, outpatient and surgery services are the worst hit by the junior doctors strike, which commenced on Thursday. Hundreds of patients who could afford shifted to private nursing homes. But those who are poor will have to continue waiting for their turn in the already over crowded hospitals.