Row over 24x7 specialty service: govt. hits back with its own figures

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Even as the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) has expressed its concerns over the government’s proposal to make specialty services available round the clock in General and district hospitals without the creation of additional human resources, the government has been firm in its resolve to go ahead with its plan.

The government maintains that while it is true that there are plenty of vacancies in the Health Service at present, a judicious redeployment of existing specialist doctors in service can resolve the issue.

The KGMOA had pointed out that there are 799 vacancies of doctors in the Health Service — of which, 300 vacancies are in the specialty cadre — making it impractical that round-the-clock service provision can be made possible through just working arrangements, without post creation.

The government has however countered this argument with its own figures. “We have had a good look at the number of doctors in service as well as the patient load in institutions, which tell us that proper redeployment of those in service is enough for the time being to provide round-the-clock specialty services in many districts. Filling of vacancies will also be taken up in due course,” a senior official said.

In Punalur Taluk Hospital where 24x7 specialty service is being planned from September 1, an additional 15 specialists need to be posted. Kollam district has 117 specialist doctors, of whom 74 are deployed in PHCs/CHCs and FHCs. It is possible to redeploy some of these doctors to Punalur and their vacancies can be met through some reshuffling within the district, the government reckons.

At least five doctors are needed in every specialty for providing round-the-clock care. The government is also thinking of some working arrangement so that the senior residents in Kollam Medical College Hospital can be pulled in for duty at Punalur on a rotation basis.

The government says there are 11 gynaecologists in the Kollam MCH, including senior residents. However, the OP numbers average only about 200-250/month while the number of deliveries conducted are around 30-35/month. The Government Victoria Hospital, Kollam, also has 11 gynaecologists.

The government upgraded the Manjeri General Hospital to a medical college in 2013, which now has 39 specialists and several assistant surgeons in excess, it is argued.

“We have been going through the e-health data which show that there is a total mismatch of patient load, services, and human resources in many FHCs and CHC/ Block CHCs.