A 65-year-old woman suffered a cerebral stroke last week and was treated at a government medical college in the city, from where she was discharged on Monday.

But Shila Devi fell ill again on Thursday and was denied treatment at two medical colleges, including the one where she was treated before, on the ground that there were not enough doctors.

Shila Devi was not alone. Many patients like her were denied treatment as the second leg of the cease-work by junior doctors over the RG Kar rape and murder entered its third day on Thursday.

Family members said Shila Devi went home to Dhapa on Monday after being discharged by NRS Medical College and Hospital.

But on Thursday she felt an excruciating pain in her head. This time the family members took her to National Medical College and Hospital as they were unhappy with the services she received at NRS.

“But we were told at National Medical College that doctors were not available for treatment because of the cease-work. They referred us to NRS,” said Shila Devi’s son Binay Ram.

“At NRS, we were told the same. We were being referred from one medical college to another just to hear that doctors were not available. Why should we suffer?”

Binay said he could not afford to get his mother treated at any private hospital.

“People like us who cannot bear the cost of treatment at a private facility are bearing the brunt of the cease-work,” he said.

The junior doctors resumed their complete cease-work on Tuesday morning, 10 days after rejoining work following a 42-day strike.

Salehar Begum Molla, 51, who is suffering from a cardiovascular disease, was denied admission at SSKM on Thursday.

The Howrah resident was refused admission even after doctors in the cardiology department OPD suggested “immediate admission”.

“My mother is suffering from shortness of breath. She can’t even eat anything. We took her to the emergency ward. She was referred to the cardiology department OPD, where doctors said she needed immediate admission. But when we returned to the emergency ward, we were told that there were no doctors to treat her,” said son Jahangir Molla, a tailor by profession.

He said his mother did not receive any treatment for seven hours.

“We cannot get her treated at a private facility. We could not even take the risk of taking her to another government hospital because of her condition. Finally, we returned home as we did not have any option,” he said.

Mina Mandal, 50, from Budge Budge, is suffering from a chronic kidney disease and was under treatment at a nursing home near her home from September 21 to October 1.

Family members said she is also suffering from hematuria (presence of red blood cells in the urine).

Unable to continue with her treatment at the nursing home, family members took her to SSKM Hospital on Thursday.

But they were told by the hospital authorities that she could not be admitted owing to the unavailability of beds at SSKM as well as at Sambhunath Pandit Hospital.

“We were told to opt for paying beds at SSKM, which would cost us Rs 5,000 a day. We could not afford it. When we again went to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital, we were told that a dialysis facility was not available there. We returned home,” said Sukna Nandy, Mina’s daughter.