more-in Leaders of the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) have warned that they will intensify their agitation against the decision of the State government to start evening Out Patient (OP) clinics in community health centres and taluk and district hospitals without providing infrastructure and manpower facilities at these government-run health institutions. The doctors have already started an indefinite protest from Friday and they attended only emergency cases in casualty. They also stayed away from private practice. However, doctors in medical colleges are not participating in the strike. At a news conference here, KGMOA leaders said that they would face the action including the government’s threat to proceed with the Essential Services Maintenance (ESMA) Act against the striking doctors. From Saturday, the doctors would admit only critically-ill patients. If the government failed to come out with a concrete solution, the doctors would stop all services, KGOMA State president A.K. Rauf and general secretary V. Jithesh said. They also accused the Department of Health of being irresponsible and urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene in the issue immediately. The KGMOA also asked the government to revoke the decision to place a doctor under suspension for boycotting work at Kumaramputhoor in Palakkad district who had protested against the move to start evening OP clinics in the State. The government was trying to divert the attention of the people from real issues, they said. Without adequate infrastructure facilities at the government-run hospitals, the KGMOA leaders said, the evening OP clinics would remain non-functional. Besides, the manpower was limited at many of the community health centres and taluk hospitals. Only a single doctor has to man a clinic in a State that has nearly 650 primary health centres. Converting primary health centres into community health centres with the staff appointed on temporary basis would be disastrous and would defeat the purpose of health care system, they said.

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