Chennai: 50 striking doctors issued transfer orders

CHENNAI: As many as 50 doctors, agitating for the implementation of DACP and other demands, were issued transfer orders Thursday, as part of disciplinary action by the state government. The move comes after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswami advised the doctors to resume duty, in view of public welfare.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, the CM said,” We spend Rs 1.24 crores on creating a doctor. Those who resort to strike will be dismissed and new doctors will be appointed in their place.”

Confirming the news of transfers, Dr Perumal Pillai, one of the doctors on hunger strike at MMC, said,” It is true that we’ve been issued transfer orders. Around 50 doctors, including those on hunger strike and the representatives of Federation of Government Doctor’s Association (FOGDA), have now been transferred.” Amidst repeated warnings from the state government, the doctors affiliated to FOGDA entered the seventh consecutive day of strike on Thursday.

The Health Minister Dr Vijayabakser has announced that out of the 4,583 doctors who were absent on Wednesday, 1,550 have reported for work as of 11 am on Thursday. Thanking them, he said, “We have given an ultimatum to the protestors to return by 2 pm. We hope that more doctors will return back to work.”

However, Perumal Pillai denied the minister’s statement.” While it is true that the Tamil Nadu government doctors’ association (TNGDA) had withdrawn their support earlier, several of them joined the protest today, after the government’s failure to honour their assurances. The number of doctors protesting has only increased”, he said.     

The Health Minister also condemned the doctors for striking in the hospital premises. “The hospital is not a war ground. The government is ready for talks once they give up the protest,” he said. He mentioned that nearly 5,483 doctors were awaiting posting orders and that the health department has already issued directives to fill the vacant posts with them if protests continue.

However, the government’s hard stand on the doctors has not gone down well with leaders of other political parties. Slamming the ruling party for their ‘disciplinary action’, DMK President MK Stalin tweeted, “Instead of disregarding the doctors’ strike, the government should meet their demands, keeping the patients’ welfare in mind.”

The health minister had earlier announced that the government will not implement DACP, as the state doctors are allowed to practice privately, unlike doctors from other states. While he assured that the government will push for 50 per cent reservation for government doctors in PG and super speciality courses, the present method of counselling will not be amended, he informed. He also said that the patient to doctor ratio is decided according to MCI regulations and only little can be done to change that.  

These remarks were severely condemned by the protestors. In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Dr Lakshmi Narasiman, Convenor, FOGDA  said “The minister has pointed out that we allowed to practice privately and hence demanding  DACP is unfair. In truth, the central government doctors receive 20 per cent non-practising allowance (NPA)  and House Rent Allowance (HRA) from the government. While NPA is absent for us, HRA is almost negligible.”

He adds that though the state doctors are ready to give up their private practice like their counterparts in other states, the state government is not very welcoming of the move. “We are not comparing our gross salaries with doctors from other states. We want the same basic pay as our counterparts,” he says.

For example, in the 13th year of service TN doctors receive Rs 83,000 while others receive Rs 1,23,000. In addition to this, they also receive HRA and NPA, he explains.

Taking a jibe at the minister's remarks regarding adherence to MCI rules, he says, “According to MCI norms, there should be 1.5 metres distance between two beds. Is that the case in government hospitals?” he asks.

“Dharmapuri medical hospital can admit 800 patients. But in the larger interest of the public, we treat anywhere between 1,300 and 1,500 patients. If doctors were to be allotted based on the number of beds, how can we treat additional patients?” he added, remarking that the MCI does not govern the hospitals in the state.

Speaking of the demand for reservation, Dr Lakshmi Narasiman reveals, “Take MMC for instance. 85 per cent of postgraduate doctors are from other states. They come to our state to study, utilise our resources and go back. It is only fair that we, state doctors, get priority as we have contributed to the growth of the health system in the state”.

As for the counselling, he says that doctors are ready to serve in remote areas, but their only demand is that they get to choose the ‘under-served’ region they want to serve in.

Undeterred by the government's threat of severe action, the doctors have informed that they will continue to boycott services.“If they do not pay us according to the work we do, we will start working according to what they pay us”, concludes Dr Lakshmi Narasiman.