Bangalore: While 2,800 doctors of the health and family welfare department resigned en masse across Karnataka on Monday, putting patients to great inconvenience, the state government claimed it had received only 911 resignations.
The government says it has implemented a contingency plan but patients bore the brunt as hospitals made do with skeletal public health service.
About 400 doctors on deputation for higher studies were not granted to leave to join the strike.
Over 1,200 doctors from across the state assembled at Freedom Park here in the morning for the general body meeting of the Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) which resolved to go ahead with the decision to quit. They signed individual resignation letters elsewhere in the state, KGMOA member-doctors assembled at various district headquarters and signed their resignation letters too.
Only a couple of doctors stayed back in each hospital to attend to emergencies. Those working also sent their resignations with their colleagues.
While protesting doctors in Bangalore handed over their resignations to the health commissioner’s office, those in the districts forwarded their resignations through their association.
An association spokesperson said the doctors who resigned will return to work on Tuesday and serve the one-month notice period.
“The government has not come to the rescue of doctors when we face problems with public due to shortage of drugs in hospitals. There is an acute shortage of drugs and often, no drugs are available to treat dogbite and snakebite cases. Why is the government not acknowledging the problem? We cannot tolerate this anymore and we resign,” said Dr HN Ravindra, honourary president of the association.
Cooperative hospitals
Protesting doctors expressed their disappointment over the state of affairs in the department of health and family welfare and their anger was directed largely at health department bureaucrats.
KGMOA president J Srinivasa said the association is mulling over starting a chain of cooperative hospitals in all villages and taluks across the state. “We will quit government jobs, but continue to work in the same place where we were posted. We won’t cheat the public who depend on us,” he added.
