At the Deendayal Memorial Hospital, two entire floors currently under renovation can be modified to accommodate any number of additional emergency cases, says the administrative officer, V R Vaishampayan, who adds that authorities from Sassoon had contacted them before the strike, enquiring about their extra intake capacity. At present, the hospitals' general wards are equipped to take in at least 30 additional patients, but 82 of the 120 beds are already occupied.

``We are surprised that the strike has not resulted in a rush of patients in the out-patient departments (OPDs) beyond 10-15 per cent, except on Monday when we admitted more than the usual number,'' says Dr Bomi Bhote, chief executive officer of the Ruby Hall Clinic. The semi-private wards have been kept in readiness, and the hospital has made arrangements for additional patients well before the strike, he says.

While most hospital authorities say that they have not yet recorded any dramatic increase in the patients seeking their services, Dr S M Hardikar ``Presumes that the two severe emergencies they admitted at Hardikar Hospital on Tuesday would have headed to Sassoon under normal circumstances.''

Describing his experience with the previous strike by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors' (MARD) Dr Hardikar says that the general tendency of patients is to avoid any hospital struggling to cope with a strike, without first trying to gauge their services by visiting it themselves. ``We have plenty of resident doctors, our casualty department is open for 24 hours and we are fully prepared to take even 25 additional patients,'' he says. Dr P V Bokil of the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) also voices an identical assurance.

Services normal
State Health Minister Digvijay Khanvilkar will on Thursday morning visit the Sassoon General Hospital, which continues to maintain that medical services were absolutely normal on Wednesday, with a minor fall in the average OPD attendance from 2277 to 2211. MARD representatives have declared they will not discuss the strike with Khanvilkar.

Official figures state that the operations were conducted as regular, with 36 minor and 33 major operations on Wednesday. The number of indoor patients admitted on Wednesday were officially 870. MARD claims that only 74 patients were admitted and 13 operations conducted.