OPD Boycott and Hunger Strike Intensify Amid Arrears Dispute
Thiruvananthapuram: The ongoing agitation by the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association has reached a critical juncture, with the hunger strike entering its 30th day. The boycott of outpatient (OP) services and academic duties has continued for the ninth consecutive day, severely impacting the routine functioning of government medical colleges across the state.
The protest, launched over pending salary arrears and pay revision anomalies, has led to a sharp decline in patient attendance. With medical faculty participating in the agitation, postgraduate (PG) students are currently managing outpatient services, resulting in limited and temporary care for patients.
The strike has also disrupted surgical services, with non-emergency procedures being boycotted for the sixth day. As a result, both outpatient and inpatient (IP) services have witnessed a drastic fall across Government Medical Colleges, affecting thousands of patients who depend on public healthcare institutions.
At Government Medical College Kozhikode, daily OP attendance has dropped from nearly 4,000 patients to about 1,200. Similarly, Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram has seen numbers fall from 4,500 to approximately 2,500. At Government Medical College Alappuzha, patient turnout has plummeted from around 4,000 to below 1,000, reflecting a widespread decline across the state.
Since only PG students are handling OP services, patients referred for specialised care by senior doctors from other hospitals are receiving only provisional treatment. Many are being forced to turn to private hospitals, raising concerns as advanced and complex treatments in the public sector are largely concentrated in medical colleges.
To prevent risk to critical patients, cancer surgeries, trauma cases and other emergency procedures have been exempted from the strike. However, at Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram, where 80 to 100 non-emergency surgeries were performed daily, the number has dropped sharply to just 5 to 8. Casualty and essential emergency services continue without interruption.
In a press statement, KGMCTA reiterated that salary arrears have remained pending since 2016. The association clarified that UGC grants are not applicable to medical college doctors and that salary revisions have historically been implemented through State Government funds following a modified UGC pattern aligned with National Medical Commission (NMC) standards. It termed the delay discriminatory, noting that Arts and Science college teachers received their arrears in April 2019.
The Health Minister has informed the association that the Finance Minister has convened an official-level meeting involving the Secretaries of Health and Finance. The outcome of this meeting is expected to be crucial, as officials had earlier stated there were no legal or administrative hurdles in clearing the arrears. The association has indicated that its future course of action will depend on the decision taken in the upcoming meeting.
