Death Toll of Patients Climbs to 25 as Private Doctors Intensify Protests in Karnataka

Bengaluru/Belagavi: Death toll of the patients has climbed to 25 in Karnataka after 11 patients including two newborn babies lost their lives on Wednesday amid private doctors’ ongoing strike against Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2017 (KPME Bill 2017). The private doctors have continued their strike for the fourth day on November 16 which paralyzed all medical services in private hospitals and clinics in the state.  

The private doctors have decided to intensify their protests from November 16 by shutting out patient departments (OPDs) in all private hospitals in the state. The new move is expected to cause for medical emergency in the state.

Most of the patients out of 25 deceased lost their lives as the doctors were reluctant to provide emergency medical treatment to them to rescue them from death from serious health issues including dengue fever, heart attack and others.

OPDs, will remain closed at as many as 40, 000 private hospitals, clinics in Karnataka from November 16 as part of the strategy of the private hospitals to put pressure on the government to abandon some of the elements mentioned in KPME 2017 Bill to be tables in the current session of state legislature being held in Belagavai.

The doctors from various parts of the state have been protesting before Survarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi from Monday and have decided to continue with the strike until the government accepts their demand to abandon some of the key elements in the proposed medical bill.

Meanwhile, the state government in an order has asked the government doctors not to take leave and has cancelled all leaves of the doctors who went on leisure to prevent any medical emergency in the state.