Thiruvananthapuram, Thursday, January 27, 2011: Normal operations in almost all the five Medical Colleges were seriously affected as the strike by Kerala Medical Postgraduates Association (KMPGA) entered the third day today.

Surgery operations at the Thrissur and Kozhikode Medical Colleges stands cancelled yesterday, owing to the strike. Senior resident doctors have also joined the strike, making matters more complicated.
The PG resident doctors began strike from Tuesday, raising various issues. Emergency services in all the five medical colleges got disrupted due to the strike. Government is yet to intervene to find a solution to the strike.

Javed Anees, State convener of the association, said it had submitted a comprehensive list of proposals before an approved committee of the government to improve the residency system, which the authorities had promised to act upon within a timeframe. “But the government has miserably failed to keep its words,” he said.

Their demands included revoking the recently hiked fee structure, providing accommodation facility for all the resident doctors on the medical college campus, providing 24-hours laboratory facilities, ensuring necessary medicines in operation theatres and sanctioning the recently stalled festival allowance.

Meanwhile, the talks held between PG doctors and Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy held yesterday ended on a negative note. Representatives of the Kerala Medical Post Graduates’ Association said the medicos would continue their strike as Minister could not give them any positive decision on any of the issues being raised by them.
Minister Sreemathy told the medicos that they were waging a war against the patients and hinted of stern action if the strike was dragged beyond reasonable limits, disrupting the functioning of the medical college hospitals.

About the hike in stipend, Sreemathy asked the medicos to give her more time to take up the issue with the Finance Minister and suggested that they have to wait till the State Budget was announced.