The government healthcare centres, especially primary health centres (PHC), are marred with gross inadequacies of staff, basic infrastructure facility, medicines, and a foolproof quality assurance mechanism, leaving the common people its desperate victims, Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) State president S. Prameeladevi has said.
Talking to The Hindu here on Friday, Dr. Prameeladevi said successive governments were responsible for the state of affairs. None of the government healthcare centres had the required staff strength, forcing doctors to work up to 17 hours a day. This increased the stress on doctors, affecting the quality of service, she said.
Dr. Prameeladevi said the KGMOA had been demanding upgrading of district hospitals into specialty hospitals and providing sufficient doctors there. The government should ensure supply of quality drugs, equipment, and other infrastructure at these hospitals .
The KGMOA leader alleged that the trend of sanctioning more medical colleges, without providing basic facilities and minimum staff would do more harm than good. She said the government should ensure protection to existing hospitals before opening more medical colleges.
Instead of improving the infrastructure, the government appeared to be keen on changing the name boards under the pretext of upgrading hospitals, leaving healthcare at the PHCs and general hospitals the ultimate casualty, she said.
Some KGMOA leaders said the Taluk Hospital at Mallappally had only three doctors in place of 24 doctors. The crowding of patients at the hospital and the helplessness of the small medical team there in properly addressing their medical needs had resulted in the manhandling of a doctor recently, they said.
Blames governments for the state of affairs
Claims doctors work up to 17 hours a day
