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Kozhikode: Citing long pending issues such as acute staff shortage, enabling of a security system to prevent attacks on doctors, pay revision, the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) will intensify its ongoing protest by boycotting outpatient (OP) services across all government medical colleges in the state from today.
The move is expected to affect OP services across the state.
“The KGMCTA is been requesting the state government to provide a more robust security system taking into account the recent attacks on medical professionals and senior doctors for no mistake of theirs. This is a very alarming situation and many in the profession are forced to leave the state and work in other states and counties. The situation has to change for a cordial atmosphere to prevail in our hospitals:, said Dr Sreejith, member of KGMCTA to News9.
The association stated that its key demands include the payment of pending salary and dearness allowance arrears due to a four-year delay in implementing the decennial pay revision, rectifying pay anomalies in the Assistant Professor entry-level scale, and recruiting more doctors to match the growing patient load.
Despite conducting protests earlier — such as boycotting academic sessions without disrupting public services — the government’s continued inaction has forced doctors to adopt a more stringent form of protest, KGMCTA said. The association held the government solely responsible for the situation.
On OP strike days, only junior and postgraduate doctors will remain on duty. The association urged the public to visit hospitals only for emergency needs on Monday, and to understand that the protest is also a stand against policies that make advanced medical care inaccessible to the poor.
If the government still fails to act, relay OP boycotts will follow on October 28, November 5, November 13, November 21, and November 29, with classes also suspended on these days. The association said it will simultaneously launch statutory and non-cooperation protests.
KGMCTA also raised strong objections to the temporary redeployment of doctors to newly established medical colleges, calling it an unscientific practice that misleads both patients and the National Medical Commission (NMC). It urged the government to create new posts instead of transferring existing staff to colleges lacking proper infrastructure.
KGMCTA has also stated that in most of the cases of doctor attacks, the perpetrators exert influence and manage to get away from the clutches of the law.
