India, Dec. 9 -- The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) had announced a two-day statewide strike from Monday against the direct recruitment of senior medical officers (SMOs) in the state. The strike led to chaos across government hospitals and medical facilities in the district, including OPDs, emergency care and operations.

Patients seeking treatment at Civil Hospital in Sector 10A said they had to wait for hours outside the hospital's outpatient department (OPD), where trainee doctors and post-graduate medical students were conducting the checkups instead of full-time doctors.

"Doctor's absence at the Flu and Skin OPDs forced us to wait for long hours. Patients needed prescriptions for diagnosis and medicine, however, ...