Doctors protest across the State

Bengaluru: On Monday, the doctors held a symbolic protest against the non-payment of Covid allowance, exemption of academic fees for the year 2020-2021. The Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD) has stated to the government that even with the reduction of Covid cases in the past one month the gates of Victoria hospital for the no Covid patients are still closed.

"One of the major tertiary care hospitals -Victoria Hospital- in Bangalore which caters service to nearly 6-7 districts around Bangalore was chosen as a dedicated Covid Hospital.

Victoria Hospital stands as a beacon of hope for the millions of poor patients who can only afford only two meals a day. With a staggering OPD visits of around 3500-4000 patients per day, today the numbers can be barely counted by fingers.

The hospital surgeons who operated around 75-100 cases per day have barely touched the scalpel for the past 9 months. A Casualty which used to be filled with patients requiring emergency care now falls empty only to be greeted by silence. Yes, there was a phase when COVID was at its peak and it was justified to reserve the entire hospital for their care. Thousands of Covid patients have been treated and discharged," the KARD stated.

The medical students at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) have demanded that the government should answer on the time frame within which their internship would complete and by when can they expect that the government hospitals would be turned into a non-Covid hospital.

Dr Dayanand Sagar, President, KARD said, "The post graduate students are paying one lakh twenty thousand and two lakh twenty thousand for super speciality residents. All these sans the academic year because of Covid. The government says they will increase the internship by three months. There is no need for extension. The government wants them to work at a lesser price."

"What about the crores of medical equipment that lie in dust ? What about the human resources that stays unutilized?" are some of the questions posed to the government by the resident doctors.