Resident doctors’ strike hits OP services at Kozhikode medical college
The Hindu
They boycott all duties, except emergency services and COVID treatment
A 12-hour Statewide token strike by postgraduate medical students in medical colleges affected the functioning of outpatient services at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode, on Monday. They have warned of an indefinite strike in the coming days if their demands are not met. The resident doctors boycotted all duties, except emergency services and COVID treatment. Other services were disrupted between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Functionaries of the Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association (KMPGA) said that apart from their status as tertiary medical care institutions, medical college hospitals were also training future doctors in various specialities. However, for the past one-and-a-half-years, they were being used only for COVID care. They are apprehensive if the current rise in fresh cases were an indication of an impending third wave, of the infection, which would necessitate setting up of more Intensive Care Unit wards and emergency wards, where resident doctors would be posted. That would again affect their academic work. KMPGA leaders said that major medical colleges in the State were short of at least 500 doctors because the third-year PG students were busy preparing for their exams and there had been a delay in conducting National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance test to take fresh batches. There was serious manpower shortage, they pointed out.More Related News