61 doctors transferred to Idukki, Konni medical colleges; KGMCTA demands withdrawal of Govt order

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala health department has sent 61 specialist doctors from various medical colleges in the state to the newly established Konni and Idukki medical colleges ahead of the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) inspection expected in February. 

Among these, 28 doctors have been transferred to Idukki and 33 to Konni Medical College. These specialist doctors hail from Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Thrissur Medical College Hospitals who have been transferred in a single day and have been asked to report to the colleges on an immediate basis.

Also read- UP Govt Doctor, Nurse Transferred For Sending Patients To Private Labs

However, the decision has once again faced criticism from the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA). The association has condemned the government's move and termed it as 'unscientific' and accused them of attempting to deceive the National Medical Commission (NMC) to obtain accreditation for the medical colleges through extensive faculty transfers, reports The Hindu. 

Pointing out that transferring faculty from existing colleges would negatively affect the functioning of several departments, the doctors affiliated with the association have threatened to go on strike if the government fails to withdraw the unscientific mass transfer order immediately. It plans to suspend teaching and regulate clinical services. 

Meanwhile, the doctors of the association have opted to delay the commencement of the protest by two days, before proceeding further. This decision was made following a recent protest meeting held in front of the directorate of medical education (DME) in Thiruvananthapuram, where they demanded clarification on the order within two days.

Speaking to TNIE about this, KGMCTA president Dr Rosenara Beegum said, “The order issued by DME lacks clarity on the duration of the transfer and the alternative arrangements in place. We will wait for two more days before deciding on suspending teaching."

The KGMCTA said, "We were forced to register our protest as the government continues to rely on the same gimmicks that it has been adopting for years to fool the inspecting authorities. We registered our 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."

Further, KGMCTA office-bearers pointed out that it was the delay in creating new faculty posts that has led to the current state of affairs. “It is the government’s routine practice to transfer doctors temporarily ahead of NMC inspection to cover up deficiencies. The root cause of this crisis is the government’s delay in allocating new posts to complete NMC’s process in these medical colleges. 

“For the said posts, the Public Service Commission (PSC) had issued a notification in Oct 2023, but after that, no follow-up action was taken by PSC. If the PSC exam was conducted on time, and the rank list published, the present crisis would not have arisen,” they told TOI. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported in December 2021 regarding the move of the Kerala Health Department transferring doctors to newly constituted Konni and Idukki medical colleges ahead of the National Medical Commission (NMC) inspection, which received severe criticism as the doctors alleged that this way the health department was opting for stop-gap arrangements instead of creating new posts.

Also read- Health Dept's Decision Of Transferring Doctors Ahead Of NMC Inspection At Kerala Medical Colleges Faces Flak