Patient care services at medical college hospitals in Kerala hit by doctors’ strike

Patient care services in government medical college hospitals (MCHs) across Kerala have been badly hit, as medical college doctors who have been on an indefinite boycott of outpatient clinics and teaching activities have suspended all non-emergency surgeries and procedures since Thursday.

On Thursday, the government showed no resolve to settle the doctors’ strike and said that dies non is applicable to all government employees who go on strike. However, the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association leaders said that they could not be threatened into submission and the strike will continue.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Health), in a communication addressed to the Director of Medical Education, said that it had come to the notice of the government that many doctors, after punching their attendance, were staying away from their duties and participating in the strike. He also sought the list of doctors who were taking part in the strike and the attendance registers.

However, the KGMCTA pointed out that outpatient care and surgical duties were just two of the duties performed by doctors and that even when participating in the strike, the faculty was handling inpatient care, emergencies, trauma care, emergency diagnostics and labour rooms.

With the senior doctors staying away from OP clinics since Monday, the outpatient care is being run by postgraduates and house surgeons. While they are attending to patients, critical treatment decisions that are to be taken by senior doctors are all getting postponed.

Since Wednesday, doctors have stopped giving appointments for elective surgeries and procedures. As the strike is all set to intensify, this situation is likely to derail the entire surgical calendar, leading to long waiting lists in the coming days.

Demands ignored: KGMCTA

In a statement in Thiruvananthapuram, the KGMCTA said the doctors had gone into an aggressive strike mode as their innumerable memoranda since 2020, seeking resolution of their basic demands, were being consistently ignored by the government. They pointed out that during the last round of talks, the government had agreed to disburse the pay revision arrears of over four years, legitimately due to doctors, as soon as certain legal hurdles were resolved. The KGMCTA said that by refusing to pay doctors the arrears, despite the Law department’s clearance, the government had betrayed the doctors, leaving them with no option but to intensify their strike.

They pointed out that the government has already issued orders granting full payment of arrears to all other State government employees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical college doctors risked their lives and worked tirelessly for the people. World over, health-care workers were honoured and incentivised for their work during COVID. However, the Left government has chosen to repay its doctors by withholding the pay revision arrears pertaining to that period.

The KGMCTA held a dharna in front of the Secretariat on Thursday. On Friday, postgraduate medicos are planning to join the strike in solidarity with the senior faculty.