Chennai: Government doctors are condemning Srivaikundam MLA Saravanan, who inspected the Thoothukudi Eral Government Hospital at midnight and asked a doctor who was off duty how patients could be treated if there was no doctor on 24-hour duty.
Government Doctors and Postgraduate Students Association: The Tamil Nadu Health Department has not issued any government order regarding 24-hour duty. While staying in his duty room at the Thoothukudi Eral Government Hospital, the doctor came after receiving a phone call from a nurse. Since there were no patients, he closed his duty room, locked it from the inside, and was resting. The 24-hour duty system for government hospital doctors should be abolished, and a shift system should be introduced immediately.
Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association: The incident in which a public representative wrongly portrayed a doctor who was on 24-hour duty at Erode Government Hospital in a way that publicly accused them is condemnable. When the duty doctor is ready to report to work immediately in emergencies, resting in the designated staff rest room is not negligence. Therefore, appropriate guidelines should be issued to implement shift duty for doctors.
Flaw in Government Order 113: In a press release issued by the Government Doctors and Postgraduate Students Association, it was stated that “Government Order 113 has been issued in a way that reallocates doctors without creating new posts in government hospitals under the Directorate of Medical Services (DMS). As a result, sanctioned doctor posts have been reduced in 70 percent of government hospitals. Despite the Health Minister’s assurance that new posts would be created based on patient numbers and specialty services, it has not been implemented. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the Health Minister should immediately intervene and rectify the shortcomings in Government Order 113,” it said.
