The OPD of Hosmat Hospital is empty, as is the MS Ramaiah Hospital OPD .

BENGALURU: Out Patient Departments (OPDs), the entry points in private hospitals , wore a deserted look across the city on Friday, due to the strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in protest against the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (Amendment) Act (KPME).

If enacted, the law will lead to the collapse of the healthcare system in Karnataka, doctors say.

Thousands of doctors participated in the strike on Friday , but emergencies were not affected. Some diagnostic centres of private hospitals functioned but lab reports were not disbursed. There were no walk-in surgeries in private hospitals and clinics. Ambulance services in all hospitals, though, were functional.

While MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Columbia Asia Hospital in Hebbal, Hosmat Hospital and HCG Cancer Hospital had put up notices and sent messages to patients who had scheduled appointments on Friday , patients continued to drop into OPDs.Outstation patients were hit hard as they were unaware of the shutdown.

An OPD staffer at HCG Cancer Hospital said: “We have been turning away patients as doctors are not available to see them. Diagnostic tests including scans, electrocardiography etc are being done but there are no doctors to diagnose the reports.“

The waiting rooms in Fortis Hospital on Cunningham Road, however, were deserted, and neither were the OPD or diagnostic lab open.

Dr Ajith Benedict, vicepresident at Hosmat Hospital, said they were not turning away emergency cases and were treating all cases of fractures, broken bones and other injuries. “We are not carrying out tests as there are no doctors to diagnose patients. The patient inflow is thin as people are aware of the strike. We get many people from Bengaluru Rural, Hoskote, Kolar and Tirupati but not many have come today ,“ he added.

All 40 patients who walked into the OPD at Manipal Hospital on Friday were registered, and told to come the following day as none of the doctors were available.Around 900 appointments were rescheduled and there were 50% fewer elective surgeries compared to other days, said a hospital staff.

“This strike is to highlight the plight of doctors. Nothing should be enforced, instead, a collaborative approach should be used to arrive at a solution.In a free market economy era, it would be disastrous to go back to the control raj.We need to come up with affordable healthcare for the masses. As much as 80% of tertiary care is by private hospitals, and doctors should not feel uncomfortable,“ said Dr H Sudarshan Ballal, chairman, Manipal Hospitals.

All doctors, nurses and other staff at OPDs in Apollo Hospital, St John's Hospital and St Martha's Hospital were off work, in solidarity with the protest.

At least 35% of doctors were not found in Narayana Health OPD and no walk-in diagnostic tests were done on Friday, while manpower was doubled in the emergency section. Outstation patients had to bear the brunt of the strike and take up rooms in lodges around the hospital.

