The junior doctors of Bengal’s government medical colleges resumed partial duties after a 42-day cease-work on Saturday, but many patients continued to be denied treatment even on Sunday.

The Telegraph went to several government medical colleges and found that patients were either denied admission or not examined at all, similar to the experiences some patients encountered while the cease-work was underway.

A senior official of a medical college in the city said beds, which were lying vacant during the cease-work, have almost
filled up now.

“If anyone is being denied admission, it is because there are no vacant beds. But no one should deny giving a written referral. The doctor must write down the name of the hospital where the patient should go,” said the official.

Ansari Bibi, 46, was turned away from SSKM Hospital on Sunday afternoon. She was asked to seek admission at another state-run hospital. A stamp on the emergency form given to the family had the words “Regret No Bed Vacant” written on it.

“We came to SSKM Hospital at noon, but we could not admit her. Those present at the emergency ward told us that no beds were available and asked us to take her to any other government hospital,” said Mohammad Miraj, Ansari’s son.

“My mother was under treatment at a private nursing home in Santoshpur for three days and it cost us ₹30,000. We cannot afford treatment in a private facility. We are daily wage earners,” said the Miraj, a resident of Metiabruz.

The Telegraph had reported during the cease-work how many patients were turned away from SSKM and with notes that said: “Regret, no bed vacant.”

Durbala Manna, 85, a resident of Amtala, was also denied admission to SSKM Hospital on Sunday. Her family alleged that doctors told the family to take her to another hospital without even examining her. The instructions were verbal and no written referral note was given to them.

“My mother has a block in the heart. Her health started deteriorating since morning. We consulted a doctor at a private hospital in Behala, who told us to admit her immediately in the ICU. Affording expenses in a private hospital is difficult for us. Hence we brought her to SSKM,” said Rupali Dey, Manna’s daughter, after doctors at SSKM asked them to come back on Monday.

“The doctors here did not even examine my mother. They told us to visit the OPD on Monday after an X- Ray,” said Rupali.

The family did not want to wait and later admitted her to a private hospital in New Alipore.

Referrals from one state-run hospital to another has been a problem for years.

One of the demands raised by the junior doctors in the later days of their long cease-work was to create a referral system that did not harass patients.

The junior doctors demanded that a system be created through which doctors and officials get to know how many beds are vacant in a hospital and refer a patient accordingly. They had highlighted how patients often had to go from one hospital to another seeking admission.

Nasim Molla, 65, a resident of Basanti who had a stroke on Sunday morning, was referred to Medical College Kolkata from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where the family first took him.

“My father had a brain stroke this morning, we took him to Canning Government Hospital where the doctors referred him to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital. But the doctors here wrote some medicine and referred us to Medical College Kolkata,” said his son Zulfiqar, while leaving Calcutta National Medical College.

“Even after repeated requests the doctors did not gave us any written referral,” he said.

Zulfiqar said in the evening that the family took Nasim to Medical College Kolkata and SSKM Hospital but he was denied admission in both places.

“At SSKM, doctors examined him and asked him to come back to the OPD on Monday. We will spend the night here and visit Monday’s OPD,” said Zulfiqar.