Manav Adhikar Suraksha Manch (MASM) led by its convener Abani Kumar Gaya submitted a memorandum to the State Health Minister through the Superintendent of MKCG Medical College and Hospital here demanding appointment of doctors against vacant posts in the premier healthcare institution of south Odisha at the earliest.
Due to dearth of doctors in almost all the departments of MKCG, patients are not only deprived of getting proper healthcare, but also the number of deaths of patients, including new born infants, has also increased substantially, the memorandum pointed out.
There are several departments such as Cardiology, Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Paedriatic surgery, Medicine, and Transfusion units which do not have required number of doctors since long. Why the Government is silent on the matter and taking no action to fill up the vacancies for last several years causing serious inconvenience to patients, Gaya questioned.
The poor and rural patients who do not have resources are forced to die due to lack of proper treatment and infrastructure, he lamented. The poor and helpless patients are being exploited by the private nursing homes taking advantage of poor healthcare system in the MKCG,
he alleged. On the one hand, the Government is collecting user’s fee from the patients worth lakhs of rupees every day, while on the other it is neglecting the healthcare system and not filling the posts of doctors for years causing inconvenience to the patients.
Condemning the poor healthcare system, Gaya alleged that the State Government is knowingly encouraging privatization of healthcare system in the State for its vested interests, thereby affecting the fundamental right to health. If the Government fails to fill up all the vacant posts, the Manch will be forced to sit on dharana indefinitely before the office of the Superintendent of the medical college from October 2, he cautioned.