Kerala Government Medical Officers Association writes to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, seeks more manpower

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) has written to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his urgent intervention in appointing more healthcare professionals, including retired doctors, into service. On an average, 100 healthcare workers are getting positive in a day and hence there is acute shortage of manpower, the association said.
KGMOA warned that the state is heading for a severe crisis due to the shortage of manpower in hospitals. With more Covid first- and secondline treatment centres opening up in almost all local bodies, there is huge demand for healthcare workers, said Dr T N Suresh, state secretary of KGMOA.
To monitor people on quarantine at the first- and second-line treatment centres, domiciliary care centres and also under home quarantine, retired doctors should be appointed. A 24-hour call centre should be set up in each district for this. The local bodies should be given the charge of appointing doctors here, said Dr G S Vijayakrishnan, state president, KGMOA.
KGMOA urged the chief minister that a referral system should be made mandatory for admitting patients in Covid hospitals. In the first phase, besides the Covid brigade, the support of over thousand doctors appointed on a temporary basis was received. Presently, their service is not sought. Hence the government should explore the possibility of getting their support too, said the association in the letter to the chief minister.
KGMOA also demanded that priority in the state should be given for vaccination of people of age group 18-45 years. They also demanded the inclusion of first-degree relatives (spouse and children) of healthcare workers in the priority group for vaccination.