Doctor Shortage Derails Specialty Care Initiative

Kerala's initiative to provide 24/7 specialty care in general and district hospitals is encountering significant obstacles. The pilot program at Punalur taluk hospital is struggling to maintain round-the-clock services, primarily due to an acute shortage of human resources within the Health Services. Initial plans to redeploy doctors with postgraduate qualifications from peripheral hospitals to Punalur have faced strong local political resistance.

Many postgraduate doctors, reassigned from various institutions, were reportedly forced to return due to local political demands. The Health Minister had announced plans to offer 24x7 services in key specialties like General Medicine, Surgery, and Paediatrics. However, the Kerala Government Medical College Officers' Association has pointed out 799 doctor vacancies, including 300 in specialty cadres, making the current arrangement impractical.

The government initially suggested that judicious redeployment of specialists from hospitals with lower patient loads would suffice. This was later revised to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. specialty services with teleconsultation overnight. Despite assurances of ensuring nine specialist doctors per specialty, Punalur currently has only two or three in each. Similar issues have arisen in Malappuram, where attempts to staff services in Tirur and Nilambur have faced non-cooperation.

While the KGMOA denies resistance stemming from private practice concerns, they emphasize that the core issue remains the human resource shortage. They note that redeploying specialists from peripheral hospitals often leads to local protests. The Finance department's limitations also complicate post creation, with the Health department having previously secured only 202 out of 1,520 requested posts. The Health department has now proposed creating 1,120 specialist doctor posts and 520 casualty medical officer posts.