The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has come out in support of the agitating doctors of Kerala who are on an indefinite strike demanding better service conditions, recruitment of additional hands and restoration of allowances slashed by the Government of Kerala.
Adding to the woes of the State administration, house surgeons and post graduate doctors in all Government medical colleges would strike work on Monday which would cripple the normal functioning of the hospitals in the State. These developments occurred even as Kerala diagnosed its first ever Omicron case in the State on Sunday.
Kerala Government Medical Doctors Association, the umbrella organisation of all doctors in the State are on indefinite agitation against the Government’s indifference to their long time demands. “The stance of the State administration is highly unfortunate and condemnable. The doctors in Government Hospitals are an overworked lot and they definitely need better working conditions. It is not fair in the part of the Government to force the medical fraternity to the streets for agitating to get basic requirements,” said Dr Samuel Koshy, president, IMA (Kerala) who addressed the striking doctors at Thiruvananthapuram.
Veena George, health minister, said that the Government would not hold any talks with the striking doctors as their demands were not fair and reasonable. Meanwhile the number of new patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in Kerala on Sunday stood at 3,777. A release issued by the minister said 57, 121 samples were tested during the 24 hours while the State saw 143 deaths due to the pandemic. The death toll reached 42, 967 by Sunday evening.
A health department official told The Pioneer that the number of samples being tested per day have been kept minimum to make it look like situation is under control here. “In Tamil Nadu, they test more than a lakh samples daily. On Sunday, Tamil Nadu tested 1.01 lakh samples and diagnosed 708 new cases,” said the doctor.
Dr Samuel Koshy , IMA Kerala chief addressing striking doctors on Sunday.