Kathmandu, June 27 Patients have been hit hard due to the ongoing protest of resident doctors at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. The doctors have been staging a protest for the past one week against the Ministry of Health and Population’s proposal to amend the Medical Education Act which makes it mandatory for medical students who receive the government scholarship to serve at hospitals in rural areas for at least five years. Govinda Khadka, one of the patients who went there for eye treatment, said the condition of patients at the hospital was miserable and doctors had been apathetic towards them. “If doctors were on strike why did the hospital made us pay for the patient card?” Questioned Khadka. Besides ICU and emergency services, all other services have been halted at the hospital. There are nearly 300 resident doctors at TUTH. Dr Ghanashyam Kharel, a resident doctor, said the government had been forcing them to work only in the rural areas. “The ministry has proposed to increase the bond duration of resident doctors from two years to five years. We closed services at the hospital to pile pressure on the government not to include such a provision in the amendment proposal,” he added. A meeting held today at the Ministry of Health and Population formed a committee to make necessary changes in the draft of the bill. According to Dr Sumit Pandey, president of Residential Doctors Association, they have submitted a five-point demand to the health ministry.