The cease-work by junior doctors at the North Bengal Medical College & Hospital (NBMCH), near Siliguri town, in protest of the brutal rape and murder of the doctor in R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta over the past one-and-a-half months has led to an increase in the number of patients visiting the outpatient departments (OPDs) at the Siliguri District Hospital (SDH).

Located in Susrutanagar on the outskirts of Siliguri, the NBMCH is the largest state-run referral in north Bengal. There are 350-odd junior doctors at the hospital.

After the NBMCH, the SDH is the second-largest state-run hospital in the Darjeeling district.

“Usually, around 40,000 patients visit the OPDs at the SDH in a month, But in the last month, the figure touched 55,000. This month, the trend is the same. We have spoken to patients and many of them have said that instead of visiting the NBMCH, they are coming here,” said a source in SDH.

According to him, 1,200 to 1,500 patients visit the SDH OPDs every day but now, almost 2,000 patients are doing so.

Chandan Ghosh, the superintendent of SDH, confirmed the surge in the number of patients. “There has been a significant increase in the number of patients. After witnessing the trend, we have made necessary preparations to ensure that not a single patient returns unattended,” he said.

That many patients are visiting the SDH instead of going to the NBMCH was evident as Paritosh Saha, a Siliguri resident, said he preferred visiting the hospital to save time.

“We are aware of the cease-work of junior doctors in all the medical colleges of the state. That is why I came here (the SDH) and could soon visit a doctor,” said Saha.

Along with people living in and around Siliguri, patients from neighbouring places are also visiting the SDH these days.

“In the NBMCH, I had to wait for a long time as only senior doctors are attending the OPDs. In the SDH, I got faster service,” said Malati Roy, a patient from Malbazar, a town in the Jalpaiguri district located around 55km from here.

SDH authorities said they had also beefed up the security across the hospital premises. Earlier, six police personnel were posted at the camp on the campus.

“Now, their number has increased to 15. There are six women police personnel and during night hours, whenever a lady doctor goes out on rounds, a woman police personnel accompanies her,” said a source.

“Also, there are 100 private security personnel at the hospital. We have 41 CCTV cameras now and another 71 cameras will be installed soon,” the source added.