Mangaluru: Karnataka Govt Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) Dakshina Kannada district president Dr Deepak Rai said all doctors and staff across cadres will join the state-wide protest from March 11 to press for various demands.Outpatient departments in all govt hospitals will remain closed between March 11 and 15, with doctors and staff attending only emergency cases and wearing black badges.Dr Rai told reporters Friday that all medical services will stop from March 16 if the govt does not respond. “We raised our demands and on Feb 13, alerted the govt about the protest plans. The cadre and recruitment rules have not amended since 1973. We demanded that the govt update the seniority list. None of the officers and staff in the department received promotion in the past five years,” he said.He urged the govt to ensure regular and adequate supply of medicines, noting shortages of insulin, antibiotics, and other essentials. Even after placing orders through the e-Aushada portal, medicines are not supplied on time, forcing hospitals to procure them using hospital funds, he said.He said appointments to N-Cadre posts in autonomous institutions under medical education department, food safety and quality department, city corporations, and municipalities should be routed through health department. Vacant posts of doctors, paramedical staff, and other cadres should also be filled.Dr Rai said contract workers in the department and NHM staff need job security and better pay, adding that many receive salaries once every three to four months. He demanded that the govt ensure salary disbursal in the first week of every month.
