12 doctors of Almora Medical college get transfer orders, locals protest
Almora: The transfer of over a dozen doctors from the Soban Singh Jeena Medical College to the Pithoragarh Base Hospital has not gone well with the people and the doctors in the Almora region, as they fear the healthcare services in the hill district would be severely affected with the transfers.
The people in the region have been protesting against the move, supported by the opposition congress on Wednesday, March 1. The transferred doctors have also refused to follow the transfer orders.
The residents alleged that the day-to-day operations at the Almora hospital would be affected by the transfer of the doctors. The protesting people alleged that the transfer of twelve doctors in one go was not a good move, and this would add to their crisis of doctors shortage.
The hospital is also reported to be catering to the people in the nearby hill districts, and Haldwani district hospital is the next major hospital after this.
A number of departments in the hospital, including pediatrics, medicine, anesthesia, ent, cardiology, pathology and microbiology would be affected. Speaking to TOI, the doctors said that the government had issued an order in November last year extending their stay at the hospital. However, they have been asked to report to the chief medical officer (CMO) of Pithoragarh with four months left for their service period. A doctor said, "If the order isn't revoked, we'll protest."
The transfer would be affecting the newly constructed facilities at the hospital as well. For instance, the newly built Operation Theatre (OT) at Almora Base Hospital which was opened on Wednesday had two doctors in its surgery department, one of whom was transferred to Rudrapur months ago and the other one is among the twelve doctors who received a transfer order to Pithoragarh.
