Faced with an imminent strike by the junior doctors, the Government has directed nearly 320 recognised private hospitals all over the State to set aside 20 per cent of their beds for patients who would be denied treatment in Government hospitals. The health authorities have asked the private hospitals to treat the patients free of cost. “We have already written letters to private hospitals to allocate 20 per cent of their beds. We are hoping for a positive response from them,” said Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr. G. Shailaja.
Leaves, weekly offs and trips of all health workers in Government teaching hospitals in the State have been cancelled till the issue is sorted out. The health authorities have asked faculty in medical colleges to step in and help out the already sagging workforce at Government hospitals. There are large numbers of service post-graduates working in teaching hospitals of the State. Authorities have allocated 15 service post-graduate doctors each to all the nine teaching hospitals in the State.
Apart from this, the authorities have informed that if the need arises, then doctors at ESI, Railways and military would be contacted and requested for help. The authorities have also started taking steps to divert large amount of workforce under Directorate of Health and Andhra Pradesh Vaidya Vidhan Parishad to the teaching hospitals. “With these arrangements, we are sure of managing the situation,” Dr. Shailaja added.
