Functioning of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, is likely to be hit more in the coming days with postgraduate medical doctors planning to escalate their ongoing indefinite strike seeking fast culmination of NEET-PG allotment.
According to functionaries of the Kerala Medical Post Graduate Association (KMPGA), postgraduate doctors across the country are boycotting essential services from Monday. The KMPGA, however, is not joining them.
A KMPGA leader said that right now they are boycotting only outpatient departments, operation theatre, and ward duty. If there is no word from the government by Tuesday, they would keep off from emergency services such as casualty, intensive care unit, and COVID duty as well from Wednesday.
Scheduled surgeries are being postponed for the past four days because of the strike. Patients are not being admitted to wards from the OP section. Only those who are referred from casualty wards are given admission. Doctors are also reportedly discharging non-serious patients from wards.
The ongoing strike entered sixth day on Monday. Though the Kozhikode MCH principal has reportedly written to the government saying that the strike had affected the hospital, there are no moves to hold talks.
Meanwhile, the house surgeons at the hospital have expressed solidarity with striking postgraduate doctors. Their association has written to the medical college principal seeking appointment of temporary staff to tide over the crisis. The letter claimed that their workload had gone up in the absence of postgraduate doctors in wards and the outpatient department. They also said that they were mentally and physically strained for the past few days. KMPGA functionaries said that the house surgeons had promised to join the strike if there are no talks because they cannot handle the work alone.
