Patna, Aug 20 (IANS): The Bihar government has directed the state police to take immediate and firm action on any complaint lodged by doctors or other medical staff.

State Health Minister Mangal Pandey said on Tuesday, “The safety and security of medical personnel is a top priority for the government. We have asked all Superintendents of Police (SP) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) to promptly investigate and act on such complaints lodged by medical professionals.”

This directive comes in the wake of a widespread strike by junior resident doctors across various medical colleges and hospitals in the state, sparked by the recent brutal rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata.

The striking doctors are calling for enacting the Central Protection Act to secure all hospitals, medical colleges, clinics and others to ensure their safety nationwide.

In Patna, the ongoing strike by junior resident doctors has severely impacted the Outpatient Department (OPD) services at key hospitals, including Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), and Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS).

The suspension of OPD services has affected several patients and their attendants who are anxiously waiting for the strike to end.

These government-run medical colleges serve as crucial healthcare providers for economically disadvantaged populations, who often travel from various districts across Bihar for treatment.

A family member of a patient from East Champaran shared the plight, explaining, “We arrived at PMCH for a hernia operation scheduled for August 17. However, due to the strike, we have been forced to wait indefinitely, with no clear resolution in sight.”

Similar situations are being reported at the NMCH and IGIMS, where patients and their families are facing uncertainty. While emergency services have been partially restored, providing some relief to trauma patients, the overall disruption continued to cause significant distress among those dependent on these facilities for care.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday urged the doctors and medical professionals across the country, who are abstaining from work in protest of the rape and murder of the junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, to resume work at the earliest.

“Since this court is seized of the matter pertaining to the safety and well-being of all medical professionals at their workplaces, and the issue involving high national priority, we will request all the doctors, who are abstaining from work, to resume work at the earliest,” said a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud.