THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: They claim the move will topple the tertiary care being imparted at Medical College Hospital for both Covid and non-Covid patients
Demand for second-line treatment centres is rising in the district with the number of active cases crossing the 10,000-mark. The efforts of district authorities to appoint doctors from Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital at the centres have faced a major setback with the Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association (KMPGA) coming out strongly against the move.
In a recent move, the authorities assigned a team of PG doctors at Varkala SRM Medical College Hospital, one of the four second-line treatment centres in the district. However, the doctors refused to join duty saying that the move will topple the tertiary care being imparted at MCH for both Covid and non-Covid patients. Meanwhile, the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) has also expressed stiff opposition to the decision to deploy doctors from the MCH in other hospitals in the district.
On Wednesday, the KMPGA gave a letter to the principal of MCH detailing their reluctance to join periphery duties. President of KMPGA Dr Nidhin George Kodiyan said the non-Covid mortality and morbidity are rising at MCH because of staff shortage. “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,” said Dr Nidhin. He added that MCH cannot afford to lose resident doctors because the hospital is already struggling with staff shortage. According to PG doctors, non-Covid patient care is being compromised.
“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,” said Dr Nidhin. The KMPGA also said that the decision to recruit 150 additional doctors via National Health Mission (NHM) never materialised, forcing the PG doctors to manage both Covid and non-Covid caseload for the past six months.
Currently, there are around 10,303 active cases in the district. The capital has also recorded around 220 Covid deaths so far. 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,” said the official.