Thiruvananthapuram: A week after the Kerala Medical Postgraduate Association (KMPA) staged a state-wide agitation demanding the recruitment of doctors in government medical colleges and the restoration of postgraduate study facilities, the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) has shown solidarity and asked the government to consider the various legitimate needs of PG medical students.
The protesting medicos have also threatened that they will go on an indefinite strike soon to press for their pending demands. Pointing out that the struggle of the medical PG doctors will disrupt the smooth day-to-day operations of our government medical colleges, KGMCTA has requested the authorities to take note of their demands sympathetically in consultation with the protesting medicos and to avoid such strikes.
team had earlier reported that the PG doctors in Kerala went on a 12 hour-long token strike demanding decentralization of COVID patient load to peripheral non-teaching institutions and additional workforce to reduce the excessive workload on the PG medicos. Coming under the banner of the Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association (KMPGA), the PG medicos boycotted OPD work, ward duties, and non-emergency services from 8 am to 8 pm. However, casualty duties, emergency services, ICUs, and COVID duties remained unaffected.
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KGMCTA pointed out that the PG medicos decided to go on strike after their discussion with the Director of Medical Education failed give any conclusions. " It is imperative that the government should take immediate steps to resume the studies and training of medical PG students which is currently partially suspended due to COVID in medical colleges in Kerala. Steps must also be taken to rehabilitate partially stalled medical education", added the association.
Moreover, the protesting medicos also mentioned that treatment in all government medical colleges in Kerala is in a state of disarray. To address this, the district centers should be entrusted with COVID treatment and the services of medical colleges should be used exclusively for critical COVID patients.
In a recent press release, KGMCTA also added, " In addition, adequate medical staff should be recruited in medical colleges to alleviate the increased workload as covid and non-covid diseases have to be treated together. At the same time, the government should try to implement stalled promotions and thereby facilitate the functioning of various medical departments."
Dr. Binoy S, State President of KGMCTA told , " Medical colleges should appoint adequate doctors to alleviate the increased workload due to the need to treat covid and non-covid diseases together. Covid treatments should be completely shifted to other district centers and so that medical colleges can concentrate non-COVID and seriously ill COVID patients."
"But to provide uninterrupted specialist treatment for non-covid diseases, in the most beneficial way, it is also necessary to take steps to resume the study and training of medical PG students who have been partially suspended due to Covid", added the doctor.