The cease-work by junior doctors continued on Sunday while patients were suffering and were being turned away from government medical colleges.

The Telegraph visited three medical colleges on Sunday — Medical College Kolkata, Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital and NRS Medical College and Hospital.

Patients at all three hospitals said planned surgeries had been cancelled or they were being denied treatment as there were not enough doctors.

A health department official said senior doctors are working overtime but that is far from enough to meet the shortage resulting from the cease-work of junior doctors, who are the backbone of patient care at medical colleges.

The junior doctors are staying away from work over the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at RG Kar on August 9.

An eight-year-old girl from Minakha in North 24-Parganas was supposed to undergo surgery for removal of a brain tumour on
August 12. The surgery was cancelled.

Nehara Bibi, 38, the girl’s mother, sat pensively on a pavement on the NRS premises on Sunday afternoon. “My daughter is in the hospital for three months. An operation for the removal of a brain tumour was scheduled for August 12 but it got cancelled because of the cease-work. We had arranged blood for the surgery,” said Nehara.

“My daughter’s condition is worsening by the day but the doctors are not
giving any fresh date for the operation,” said the resident of Minakha.

Sudip Chandra Barman, who is suffering from blood cancer, was lying on a stretcher outside the emergency ward of NRS Medical College on Sunday afternoon. His wife, Shyamoli Barman, was standing next to him. The couple from Cooch Behar had been waiting for a doctor to attend to Sudip since 8am.

“My husband was admitted to a private hospital in Salt Lake on Friday. Since we could not afford the treatment there, we brought him here,” said Shyamoli.

“We were hoping that we could get him admitted to NRS but the staff here said that was not possible. They told us to consult a doctor in the OPD on Monday. But since the strike is on, I am not sure whether my husband will be admitted on Monday,” said Shyamoli.

She said she had no clue how to continue her husband’s treatment. The couple returned to Cooch Behar on Sunday.

When asked on Sunday about the plight of patients who are suffering because of the cease-work, a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the epicentre of the protests, said senior doctors were working overtime to provide patient care.

“All departments are functioning. The senior doctors are all working, often doing overtime, to give proper care to patients,” said Debasish Halder, a junior doctor at RG Kar.

Mohammad Sarfuddin, who was sitting on the stairs outside the emergency ward of Medical College Kolkata, had a different tale to tell. His father, who suffered a brain stroke on Saturday, is in need of surgery, but it can’t be performed in the absence of junior doctors.

“We took him to SSKM Hospital in the morning, where the doctors said he needed surgery. But my father was lying there till 3.30pm without much treatment. When we met the staff, we were told there were no doctors. My father was then transferred to the trauma care centre, but there, too, we were told there were no doctors,” said Sarfuddin.

“Around 8.30pm on Saturday, we brought him to Medical College Kolkata. He was admitted after several requests, but we were told there were no surgeons. No surgery was done on Sunday either. The doctors are now asking us to visit the OPD on Monday,” Mohammad Iqbal, son of Sarfuddin, said.

At Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, the family of a 25-year-old woman complained that they have not heard anything from doctors about the diagnosis in the four days she is in the hospital.

“My sister, Sima Mondal, complained of a pain in the abdomen. We took her to a health centre in Cossipore, where the doctor suspected gall bladder stone. We brought her here four days ago. We have done all the tests, including an MRI, but I have not been able to meet any doctor in these four days,” said Bora Roy, 31, the woman’s brother.

On Friday, the Bengal government’s health secretary had highlighted how the absence of junior doctors was affecting specialised treatments such as “cancer care, and neurological and cardiological care” in the government medical colleges.

In the government health-care sector, only medical colleges offer such treatments.