Postgraduate medical students , dental students and house surgeons in all government medical colleges across the State went on a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, boycotting all patient-care services, including emergency services.
Services were affected in all medical college hospitals (MCHs) as the PG medicos, the main workforce in hospitals attached to the colleges, stayed away from service. Several elective surgeries got postponed and the services in operation theatres were slashed. Most surgical specialties avoided posting very major surgeries on Wednesday, according to doctors.
In many busy outpatient clinics, patients were disposed of early and asked to come on a later date. Most hospital administrations rearranged duty schedules of the faculty to ensure maximum availability of human resource.
Demands
The medicos are demanding a hike in stipend commensurate with their heavy workload, besides other demands such as slashing the PG course fee, increasing senior residency seats and more hostel facilities for resident doctors.
The medicos decided to go on the 24-hour strike as their token strike on September 29, raising the very same demands, seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. The joint action council of medicos organised protest dharna and marches in all government medical colleges.
At Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, representatives of the PG medical and dental association, house surgeons’ association and college students’ union took out a protest march and staged a dharna. The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association expressed their support for the PG medicos. The medicos also marched to the office of the Director of Medical Education and staged a dharna there.
Medicos meet Ministers
Members of the joint action council later met Health Minister Veena George and Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal for discussions.
“While agreeing that our demands were reasonable, the Finance Minister asked us for some breathing space before a final decision on hike in stipend can be effected. He suggested that by January next, a favourable action can be taken,“ representatives of the Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association said.
The medicos will meet the Health Minister separately to discuss their other demands, including hiking the senior residency seats and more hostel accommodation.
The association said the 24-hour strike will end as planned earlier at 8 a.m. on Thursday.
