At around 11 a.m. on Saturday, the usually busy consultation waiting area located beside the two-wheeler parking at KIMS Hospital, Minister Road was eerily quiet.
Upon reaching the first-floor Outpatient (OP) department, only a few confused individuals could be seen waiting. Among them was 56-year-old Sudha from Sindhi Colony. “My son had been suffering from a headache all night.
The local clinic doctor suspected migraines, so we decided to consult a specialist here since it’s a Saturday,” she explained. However, upon arriving at the hospital, Ms. Sudha discovered that the hospital had suspended its OP and elective surgery services for the day in solidarity with the recent rape and murder of a female medical student at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
After waiting for a while, Ms. Sudha left the hospital, disappointed. This scene was the same across private hospitals throughout the city.
Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Jubilee Hills, walked out of Yashoda Hospital Secunderabad at around 11.30 a.m, after learning that no OP services were available.
“I understand the reason behind the suspension, but these hospitals should have communicated better with the public,” he remarked. The suspension of non-emergency services was in response to a nationwide call by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), urging hospitals to withdraw such services from 6 a.m.
on Saturday (August 17) to 6 a.m. on Sunday (August 18).
Government hospitals in the city, including Gandhi H.