Kerala Doctors Strike: Health System on Brink

Government doctors in Kerala are currently on an indefinite strike, now spanning 74 days, protesting unmet promises from the state. Their grievances include unpaid salary arrears, chronic staff shortages, and unsafe working environments.

The doctors are demanding corrections to pay anomalies, the creation of long-pending teaching and non-teaching posts, and improved infrastructure for patient care. They also highlight a severe lack of workplace safety, with frequent assaults on healthcare professionals going unpunished.

This prolonged protest threatens Kerala's renowned public health system, which has been internationally praised. The state faces a critical shortage of healthcare personnel, with over 18% of sanctioned posts vacant in government medical colleges and nearly 10% in district hospitals.

The crisis is compounded by rising patient numbers in government facilities, partly due to increasing private healthcare costs and reluctance from some private hospitals to accept government insurance. This situation disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable, who rely heavily on public healthcare services.