The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) has demanded that the unscientific, mass transfer of faculty in medical colleges to the new medical colleges of Idukki and Konni on the eve of inspection by the National Medical Council (NMC) be withdrawn immediately.
In a statement here on Monday, the KGMCTA pointed out that the Health department has sought to transfer en masse 61 specialist doctors from the Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Thrissur medical colleges to the new ones in Idukki and Konni in a single day, to “dupe the NMC” and gain recognition for the colleges .
The KGMCTA demanded that the government asking 33 doctors to join the Konni medical college and the remaining 28 to join the Idukki medical college the very next day be withdrawn immediately.
The KGMCTA pointed out that the problem of shortage of faculty in the Idukki and Konni medical colleges was the government’s own creation and that it was the delay in creating new faculty posts that has led to the current state of affairs. If the Public Service Commission had followed up on the notification of new posts by conducting the examination and publishing the rank list, the current situation could have been avoided.
The sudden and en masse transfer of doctors from the Thrissur, Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram medical colleges will affect patient care in these institutions.
The KGMCTA said that they were forced to register their protest as the government continues to rely on the same gimmicks that it has been adopting since years to fool the inspecting authorities. It registered its strong protest that even faculty members who were transferred barely a year ago in general transfer have been transferred again, with no regard to any of the transfer guidelines.
The KGMCTA pointed out that the government would do well to remember that doctors too are human and that they too have families going through various crises.
