CHENNAI: Government doctors held demonstrations against redeployment of junior residents and other staff in 14 medical colleges across the state.
Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA), which held demonstrations in 11 new medical colleges and four old medical colleges from where junior resident doctors have been redeployed to newly opened hospitals, said the health department didn’t create any posts in newly opened hospitals.
“The health department opened new buildings in hospitals in Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem and Tirunelveli under JICA project spending crores of rupees, but so far no work to open the department has been started. Similarly in Vellore and Thoothukudi, new super specialty hospitals have been inaugurated, but no posts have been created. Doctors and staff from other hospitals have been deployed,” TNGDA said.
In Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital and Government Peripheral Hospital at Periyar Nagar no new posts have been created, it said.
TNGDA further added that in the place of 24,000 doctors, only 12,000 doctors have been working in medical college hospitals in the state. In such cases, it is wrong to redeploy doctors. “This will affect patient care. If the health department has been doing this exercise to reduce the manpower in government medical colleges as per NMC norms, then doctors will boycott family welfare camps, VIP convoy duty, physically challenged camps, ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ camps and other things which don’t come under NMC norms,” TNGDA added.
The health department should immediately drop this decision of redeployment for the welfare of the patients, else the government doctors will be forced to take the protest to the next level, it said.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Government Doctors Association (FOGDA) conducted demonstrations at Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital against the redeployment process.
FOGDA, in a statement, said the process has badly affected the quality of education, and patient services in government hospitals. As patient footfall post Covid-19 in government hospitals has increased, the health department should increase the sanctioned posts, it added.