Kerala: The State Government's decision to deploy doctors of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital at second-line treatment centres has been severely opposed by the Kerala Medical Postgraduate Association (KMPGA)
Considering the recent hike of COVID victims in the state, the government in order to handle the scarcity of workers has decided to deploy doctors of medical colleges at second-line treatment centres but the doctors of Kerala Medical Postgraduate Association found the decision to be a potential threat on the tertiary care provided at Medical College hospitals to both COVID and Non-COVID patients.
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According to a recent media report, this came after a team of PG doctors has been assigned at Varkala SRM Medical College Hospital but the doctors stated that they are unwilling to join the duties as it will leave those patients unattended who are receiving tertiary care at the MCH. The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association has also supported the decision of the doctors and expressed their dismay at the decision to deploy doctors from MCH in other health centres.
Last week, KMPGA had submitted a letter to the principal of MCH and clarified that they are reluctant to be assigned new duties. The president of KMPGA, Dr. Nidhin George Kodiyan stated that government should also take note of the fact that the mortality rate is also increasing in MCH among COVID patients, and also patient was suffering from other morbidities. Dr. Nidhin told The New Indian Express that "we have also submitted multiple requests to hold an official meeting to discuss our issues but they have shown no interest. We have decided not to join peripheral postings unless higher authorities hold the meet."
The association is of the view that by taking cognizance of the increasing cases of COVID victims, the government is being negligent towards the Non-COVID patients as their treatments are being compromised because of the scarcity of healthcare workers in Medical College hospitals. Under such circumstances, resident doctors must not be assigned duties outside the MCHs as it may render MCH serviceless, it was stated.
The KMPGA has also questioned why the decision to recruit 150 additional doctors via the National Health Mission (NHM) is never materialized and instead PG doctors are deployed to handle both COVID and non-COVID caseload for the past six months. Shedding light on the extreme work pressure, Dr. Nidhin added that " the recent incident of maggot infestation on a patient's wounds exposes the current issues at the MCH. Considering the emergency situation, we have been working 24x7 to fight the pandemic but posting us for periphery duties will affect our academic exposure. The MCH is being forced to take even minor cases referred from other peripheral hospitals".
An official of the district administration said everybody has to compromise and work according to the system at a time of crisis. "Doctors cannot evade duties assigned to them. We will take disciplinary action if they don't comply with the orders," the official told TNIE.