Kozhikode Medical College cardiology department faces doctor shortage amid high patient load

Kozhikode: The Department of Cardiology at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, is grappling with a severe shortage of doctors despite catering to hundreds of patients from across north Kerala every day.

Against a sanctioned strength of 14 permanent doctors, only eight are currently on the rolls, with one of them also deployed at Government Medical College Hospital, Wayanad, on a working arrangement basis.

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According to the news reports, instead of filling vacant Assistant Professor posts with permanent appointments, the authorities have been relying on Doctorate of Medicine (DM) trainees, who work at the hospital to fulfil their one-year bond obligations before leaving.

Senior doctors say that this stop-gap arrangement does not have any practical use. They claim that at least 10 years of continuous experience in the echocardiogram test room is required for a doctor to deliver an expert opinion. “The DM trainees can be deployed for outpatient department duty, primary angioplasty surgeries for heart attack, and basic echocardiogram procedures; that’s fine. But if someone gets a doubt in a complex case in the echocardiogram test room, the senior doctors even on operation theatre duty may have to be called in to clear it. There are three such echo rooms here where tests are done simultaneously,” said a doctor, reports The Hindu.

The department’s sanctioned staff pattern comprises one Professor, three Associate Professors and 10 Assistant Professors. Doctors, however, maintain that even this staffing structure was designed long ago and has not kept pace with the substantial rise in patient numbers over the years.

The situation has also been compounded by the reported transfer of two Professor posts, which were earlier available at the institution, to other government medical college hospitals.

Doctors have warned that the shortage could become more severe over the next three to four years as several senior faculty members are due to retire, potentially leaving the department with even fewer experienced specialists.

The scale of the department’s workload highlights the challenges involved. Around 600 patients visit the cardiology outpatient department every day, while more than 5,500 procedures, including 980 primary angioplasty surgeries, were performed last year.

Patients arriving with heart attacks are directly shifted from the casualty department to the cardiology intensive care unit (ICU). Up to 10 patients are reportedly admitted to the ICU every day, with primary angioplasty procedures carried out round the clock.

The department operates two cath labs to handle these procedures

Despite the mounting pressure, efforts to recruit doctors have reportedly yielded limited results. The authorities have repeatedly brought the staffing crisis to the government's attention and invited applications for vacant Assistant Professor posts. However, many junior doctors are reportedly reluctant to join, citing unattractive entry-level salaries.

The continuing vacancies, rising patient numbers and impending retirement of senior doctors have raised concerns about the department’s long-term capacity to provide specialised cardiac care to patients across north Kerala.

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