On Doctors Day, a section of government doctors wore black to work highlighting their long-pending demands, including implementation of Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) and conduct of counselling for service post graduates.
A. Ramalingam, State organising secretary of Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA), said they wore black to work including for out patient duty to register their protest against unfulfilled demands.
“This was to show that we have been deprived of our rights. Already, we have lost service quota due to NEET. We have been demanding proper implementation of DACP - elevation after completion of 4, 9 and 13 years - but it is yet to materialise,” he said.
The Directorate of Medical Education has come up with a government order to restructure posts, he said, adding: “In this, they have reduced the number of lower level posts such as resident doctors and assistants, and have increased the posts of professors. It is mainly the residents and assistant doctors who handle the out patient and in patient care. The number of posts should be based on the patient care load,” he said.
He added that every year, counselling for service PGs is held, “But this year, the counselling has not been held till date. As a result, they are waiting with no posting and salary from the end of May,” he added.
S. Perumal Pillai, State office-bearer of SDPGA, said, “Service PGs, on completion of the three-year course, get postings after counselling. This year, for the first time, they have been told that there would be no counselling, and they would get orders for their posting. Again, the postings will not be in institutions under the DME but district headquarters hospitals that comes under the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services,” he said. He said they would continue to wear black to work this week.