Women Patients Turn ‘Football’ Between Hospitals: Protest Erupts at IGMC Over Gynae Shift
Shimla, April 30,: Anger spilled onto the premises of Indira Gandhi Medical College as a joint front of Shimla Nagarik Sabha and Janwadi Mahila Samiti, backed by other citizen groups, staged a massive protest against the shifting of the gynaecology OPD and department from Kamla Nehru Hospital to IGMC.
Significantly, women protesters had earlier staged demonstrations at Kamla Nehru Hospital itself, warning the government against the move. With their demands ignored, they shifted the agitation to IGMC on Thursday, escalating the pressure.
Raising slogans and accusing the government of a “thoughtless decision,” protesters said the move has “completely derailed” healthcare services for women in the city. They alleged that patients are now being forced to shuttle between the two hospitals, turning critical care into chaos.
Janwadi Mahila Samiti secretary Falma Chauhan and president Ranjana Jaret led the protest, demanding an immediate rollback. “On one hand, the Chief Minister talks about providing treatment to women under one roof, and on the other, the very department is being split and shifted. This has only increased suffering for women patients,” they said.
The agitators stressed that globally, gynaecology and obstetrics function under one roof, and any fragmentation directly impacts patient care. “This is not reform — it’s a recipe for disaster in women’s healthcare,” she said, warning that essential services like lab testing, emergency care, and postnatal support have been disrupted.
Earlier, SAMDCOT, an embrella body of faculty of IGMC and Dental College — which has been consistently opposing the move — hospital stakeholders, had lodged protest at IGMC, flagging the cascading impact on patient care and hospital coordination.
SAMDCOT: “The government has taken a unilateral decision without understanding ground realities. Splitting critical departments between two hospitals is not reform, it is administrative confusion that patients are paying for.”
Its general secretary also warned of deeper systemic damage, stating: “You cannot run maternal healthcare in fragments. From OPD to emergency to diagnostics, everything is interconnected. This decision has broken that chain and the worst sufferers are poor women who depend entirely on public health services and hit the MBBS students' mentorship programme.”
They said the Sukhu government has “systematically weakened” the over 102-year-old state-level mother and child hospital at KNH to make way for an MLA hostel. “A historic institution built for women and newborn care is being hollowed out. This is not governance — this is abandonment,” one protester said.
Protesters also flagged the fallout on medical education, claiming that internship training for students at Kamla Nehru Hospital has been adversely hit.
They demanded that all women and child healthcare facilities, including neonatal units and advanced procedures like robotic surgery, be strengthened at KNH itself rather than shifting departments. “If the government is serious, upgrade KNH — don’t dismantle it,” they asserted.
Addressing the gathering, Janwadi Mahila Samiti leaders warned that the agitation will intensify if the Sukhu government fails to roll back the decision. “This protest will not stop here. We will build a larger front and march to the Secretariat if needed,” they said.
CPM General Secretary Sanjay Chauhan, after inspecting the ground situation, said the reality inside IGMC is alarming. “There are no proper facilities. Patients are being crammed into limited space, with two patients sharing beds in medicine wards. In surgery, people are waiting for months for operations due to lack of beds and OT availability,” he said.
He pointed out that the 24×7 emergency lab at IGMC, which once functioned round the clock, has remained disrupted for nearly one-and-a-half years. Even routine government tests are either delayed or unavailable, raising serious concerns over the collapse of basic diagnostic services.
Chauhan alleged that the situation reflects a larger policy failure. He accused the government of indirectly promoting privatization of essential services like healthcare, water, and electricity by weakening public institutions. “This is how systems are deliberately made to fail—so that privatization becomes inevitable,” he remarked.
Taking a dig at the shifting of facilities to Chamiyana, Chauhan said the move has only worsened patient suffering. “Even earlier, patients were struggling. Now, after partial shifting, the situation has become unbearable. Patients are literally being tossed around like a football between hospitals,” he said.
He also flagged the steep hike in test rates and questioned the government’s claims of providing free healthcare. “Even senior citizens above 60 are not getting free tests. Everything has become expensive,” he added.
He emphasized that multiple stakeholders—including women’s groups, doctors’ associations, and paramedical staff—have opposed the decision to shift the gynae services. CPM, he said, stands firmly with these groups and had earlier written to the government urging it to halt the move.
Chauhan further revealed that during earlier planning phases, including the second phase funded by the Centre, there were provisions to expand facilities within the existing campus. “There is adequate land—around 12 bighas—where modern infrastructure could have been developed instead of shifting services abruptly,” he noted.
Calling the decision “anti-people,” Chauhan warned that protests will intensify if the government fails to roll back the move. “Healthcare is not a political experiment. The government must immediately reverse this decision and restore services at IGMC,” he said.
The Nagrik Sabha targeted Sukhu, accusing him of turning “deaf” to public concerns. “The Chief Minister has shut his ears. This is a dictatorial approach. The government has completely failed,” Chauhan said, even suggesting that ministers should reconsider holding office if they cannot address such critical issues.
The ongoing agitation, led by women’s groups and supported by political and social organizations, continues to gain momentum, putting the Sukhu government under increasing pressure over what is fast turning into a major healthcare flashpoint in the state capital.
#SaveKNH #WomenHealthcareCrisis #ShimlaProtests #RollbackGynaeShift #PublicHealthFirst #HealthOverPolitics #StopPolicyBlunders #ProtectPublicHospitals #VoiceOfWomen #HimachalHealthCrisis
