04 January,2018 09:50 AM IST | Mumbai | Rupsa Chakraborty
A Visit to the hospital took a backseat for most Mumbaikars on Wednesday as protests raged on the streets. Hospitals saw a 60 per cent decline in their footfall in the outpatient department (OPD).
On any other day, KEM hospital, which is the biggest civic hospital in the city, receives 7,000-8,000 patients in the OPD, but yesterday, only 3,000-odd patients came in. Hospital dean Dr Avinash Supe said surgeries were not affected by the protests, but several employees and doctors coming for the second shift arrived late.
Even Nair hospital, which sees 1,500 patients on an average in the OPD, saw only 396 yesterday. Instead of 80 to 90 surgeries, 54 were performed there, while at Sion hospital, only 900 patients showed up instead of the usual 3,000.
Private hospitals had a similar run. Huzaifa Shehabi, COO of Saifee Hospital, said, "The number of patients was less as they decided not to venture outside because of the bandh. Because all the medical staffers stay nearby in our hostel, they arrived on time and helped in handling the indoor patients."
