THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The medicos strike on Tuesday hit patient care services in government medical college hospitals across the state. The junior doctors stayed away from outpatient services and ward duties affecting patient care activities. In the next phase junior doctors will go on indefinite strike from December 23 to demand rollback of government decision to increase retirement age from 60 to 62. Patient care services including OP wings, wards were severely affected for 24 hours. The strike was supported by undergraduate students in the government medical colleges. Casualty emergency services, ICUs and labour rooms had been exempted from the strike.
The indefinite strike from December 23 is likely to cripple medical services in medical college hospitals. They will also launch indefinite fast from December 25 if the government failed to respond positively. The Kerala Government Medical College Association (KGMCTA) obse-rved black day on Tuesday. The junior doctors are opposing the decision on retirement age as they believe that it will adversely affect the appointments at the entry grade level besides discouraging MBBS graduates aspiring for a career in medical education sector.
They pointed out that more than 3,500 MBBS doctors and 1,500 PG doctors come out of medical colleges annually and the increase in retirement age would hit their job prospects badly. The KGMCTA and MJAC countered the government argument that increase in retirement age would remove shortage of professors in medical colleges. The officer bearers of the two organisations say that the shortage was felt more in the level of associate professors and at the entry grade.
