Jodhpur:
Mahesh Joshi relives the events of the weekend every few hours, always with a different ending than the one his family witnessed.
His wife, Asha, was rushed to a government hospital in Jodhpur on Sunday evening when she complained that she was finding it tough to breathe. Mahesh says he was referred to the cardiac care unit. Doctors told him that Asha needed a respirator. But a strike by doctors and nurses meant that the advice was the only medical attention given to her. She died 10 hours later.
"They have killed my wife. Who will look after my young children?" asks Joshi flatly.
Residents of Jodhpur are furious as reports surface that over the weekend, 14 patients - half of them newborns - died because of a collective strike by the staff at the city's six government hospitals.
Rajasthan's Health Minister, Duru Mian, has ordered an inquiry to determine whether these reports are correct. In the meantime, emergency rooms and Intensive Care Units are running - just barely- with skeletal staff.
The strike began on Saturday evening, after doctors at the MDM Hospital were attacked by the relatives of a patient. Doctors struck back, targeting the patient's family, and damaging hospital property. The police was summoned and in the lathi-charge that followed, a group of six doctors were injured.
Resident doctors and nurses all over the state say they support their colleagues' decision to refuse to attend to patients. Roopmati stands next to her daughter, who delivered a baby two days ago. "I have to have my stitches removed but there is nobody here to attend to us," she complains.
The Epidemic Act has been in force in Rajasthan since late last year because of an outbreak of swine flu. Currently, more than 400 patients with swine flu have been counted across the state. The Act, which effectively declares a state of medical emergency, prevents doctors from taking time off. It provides for harsh action against those who defy it. Its massive violation has so far seen no repercussions. And that is what many patients are most angry about.