The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : 30 doctors suspended from service

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Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

30 doctors suspended from service

Staff Reporter

Action against failure to report for duty at Sabarimala

No change in doctors’ stand on stir: KGMOA
Government mobilising doctors from across the State: Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government has suspended from Health Service 30 Government doctors who did not report for Sabarimala duty on Friday.

The Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) said doctors were expecting this and that they were not unduly worried.

Specialist doctors

“All 30 doctors who have been suspended are specialist doctors. The Health Services has just lost their service as they are going to put up their resignation and walk out,” KGMOA president Sunny P. Orathel told The Hindu.

He said there was no change in the doctors’ decision to continue their non-cooperation agitation.

Already, 77 senior doctors with over 20 years service and 120 junior doctors had handed over their resignation letters to the KGMOA, he said.

“Our problems have been pushed under the carpet by successive Governments since 1993. This is our last ditch battle to save the public health system. We decided to strike knowing fully well that we might go out of the system,” Dr. Orathel said.

Doctors mobilised

The Government is in the process of mobilising doctors from across the State for deployment at various stations at Sabarimala . Apart from doctors posted under contract through the National Rural Health Mission, doctors from Medical College, house surgeons and postgraduate medical students are also being issued orders to report for duty at Sabarimala.

“We have made adequate alternative arrangements and doctors from various hospitals have already been posted at Erumeli, Kanjirapally, Nilakkal, Pampa and Sannidhanam. Besides, we are getting doctors from our Cooperative Medical Colleges and hospitals for Sabarimala,” Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy said.

The Minister said that the agitating doctors were doing a disservice to the four crore pilgrims coming to Sabarimala.

The first batch of 41 doctors who will serve at Sabarimala for the first 10 days of the pilgrimage season has already been arranged.

These include 17 NRHM doctors and 13 doctors from Medical Colleges.

Ms. Sreemathy also ordered that a rural health unit of Kottayam Medical College be opened at the Erumeli community health centre for the sake of pilgrims. Doctors, postgraduate students and junior residents would be posted here on a rotation basis.

Rural Health Centres would be made operational at Pampa, Appachimedu, Neelimala, Nilakkal and Pathanamthitta general hospital during the season, she said.

The house surgeons’ batch completing training at Kozhikode Medical College on November 30 might also be posted at Sabarimala as part of the Compulsory Rural Service.

The Government has also obtained a list of 78 doctors who have been issued advice memo by the PSC to join Health Service and these doctors might also be deployed at Sabarimala for the time being.

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