CHENNAI: Postgraduate medical students of the Institute of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Madras Medical College, staged a brief protest against the memo issued by the department after they allegedly refused to do the duty of attending to the sick mother of the Additional Chief Secretary to the Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan, on Tuesday.
The order, signed by Professor Dr Anuradha Swaminathan, Director and Head of Department, Institute of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Madras Medical College, said, “Herewith giving a memo to all the first- and second-year degree and diploma students for failing the GO.”
Speaking to Express, a source said, “The patient has been repeatedly hospitalised. During previous admission also, the doctors were deputed to the IAS officer’s home. Usually two consultants would be posted at the ICU. Since one doctor was posted at the IAS officer’s house, only one doctor was available for the hospital duty.”
“Again they started to do the same thing. On Monday, one doctor was posted to be at bedside of the IAS officer’s mother. So, doctors were trying to explain their ordeal to the dean. For two reasons – refusing to go to Raj Bhavan and the delay in going to the theatre – the doctors were given memo,” the source added.
Dr R Jayanthi, dean of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital said, “The memo was issued for internal issue. No question of going to house. Memo was unnecessarily linked with this issue”.
Meanwhile, Dr G Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors’ Association for Social Equality, said, “Mother of an IAS officer is not VIP. By posting the PG doctors on duty at his residence, the management is violating the rules of the MCI. This will also affect public service. This is a misuse of power,” he added.
“However later in the day, the department withdrew VIP duty at the Raj Bhavan. The department also assured no action will be taken on the memo issued,” a doctor said.