Doctors’ strike affecting patient care at MCHs

The indefinite strike by medical college doctors entered the third day on Wednesday, with the agitation set to intensify further. From Thursday, the doctors will stay away from all elective surgical procedures, escalating their protest over unresolved pay revision arrears.

Emergency surgeries and procedures, labour rooms, intensive care units (ICUs), post-mortem services, and emergency laboratory diagnostics have been exempted from the boycott. However, the suspension of elective surgeries is expected to severely disrupt patient care, leading to a backlog of cases and prolonged waiting periods for surgeries at medical college hospitals (MCHs) in the coming days.

Outpatient (OP) clinics in the MCHs are at present being managed by senior and junior residents, along with house surgeons, in the absence of senior faculty members. Patient care has been affected, as medical trainees are unable to take independent treatment decisions.

The doctors, who have been on a non-cooperation strike since July 1, decided to intensify their protest after several rounds of discussions with the government failed to resolve their pay revision demands.

On Wednesday, remarks made by Health Minister Veena George — stating that doctors should have avoided the “unnecessary” OP boycott and the hardships caused to the public — triggered widespread resentment within the medical fraternity. The Minister’s statement that doctors proceeded with the strike despite the Finance Minister’s clarification regarding legal obstacles in disbursing pay revision arrears has been contested by the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA).

According to the KGMCTA, the pending legal issues cited by the government relate to University Grants Commission (UGC) grant matters applicable only to college teachers. UGC grants do not apply to medical college faculty.

The association asserted that medical college faculty members are entitled to arrears for the period from January 2016 to September 2020, and that there is no litigation pending in any court nor any legal impediment preventing the disbursement of these arrears.

In a statement, the KGMCTA said the Law department had already provided legal advice confirming that no litigation or legal obstacle exists to block the payment of salary arrears to medical college doctors. The relevant file (HLT B2/278/2025–FIN) reportedly reached the Finance Minister on February 13, and the association maintained that the government now has no justification for withholding the arrears.

Doctors alleged that the government has been resorting to stonewalling tactics to delay the payment of pay revision arrears. The continued failure to take a decision despite receiving favourable legal advice reflects indifference towards doctors, the association said. It also termed as condemnable the attempt to blame doctors for hardships faced by patients, arguing that the strike was forced upon them over legitimate demands.

The KGMCTA announced a dharna in front of the Secretariat on Thursday. The association further warned that if no favourable decision is taken, doctors will abstain from all medical examination-related duties from February 26 onward.