Times News NetworkThiruvananthapuram: Kerala Govt Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) has warned that the state govt’s decision to provide 24×7 specialty services at district and general hospitals within six months would be impractical without creating adequate posts and could weaken the three-tier public healthcare system.In a statement, KGMOA said it had long been demanding round-the-clock specialty services. However, redeploying existing doctors without providing additional manpower would place further strain on the health system, which is already facing shortages even to maintain current services.According to KGMOA, medical college departments providing similar 24-hour services generally have around 100 doctors, including nearly 30 faculty members, 10 senior residents with postgraduate qualifications and about 60 junior residents. In contrast, several specialties at district and general hospitals currently have only three or four specialist doctors.The association warned that expecting specialists who perform night emergency duties to also handle outpatient, inpatient and theatre duties during the day could endanger doctors and patients. The proposed system, it said, could not be sustained through an on-call arrangement alone. New specialty posts are needed to facilitate proper shift arrangements and stay duties.The health department currently has around 800 vacancies among doctors, including about 300 in the specialty cadre, KGMOA said. There are also 476 vacancies in the general cadre and 23 in the administrative cadre. Kasaragod, Kannur and Palakkad alone have more than 100 doctor vacancies. Delays in promotions and cadre placements have further aggravated the shortage.KGMOA also pointed to vacancies in emergency departments, which have forced specialists to take casualty duties, affecting specialty services.The association stressed that primary and community health centres are crucial to Kerala’s public healthcare system, particularly for rural communities. Transferring doctors from these institutions to larger hospitals under the new scheme, it warned, could deprive people of basic healthcare and weaken peripheral facilities.KGMOA suggested creating new specialty cadre posts and giving placement to assistant surgeons with postgraduate qualifications. It also called for urgent recruitment through the Public Service Commission to fill vacancies in primary healthcare institutions.
