THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Now, despite government claims on having adequate finances for the anti-Covid fight, the authorities at the district-level are clamouring for dedicated funds for recruiting additional healthcare staff to check the mortality rate. Experts says the state is likely to witness another wave of the pandemic in December and this demands increased preparedness. Getting more staff nurses, doctors and cleaning staff is the only way to keep up the anti-Covid fight.
Though the government is leaving nothing to chance -- setting apart funds for purchasing equipment, further development of existing infra, building new infrastructure and giving incentives to staff -- there are no dedicated funds for getting additional staff. The districts have no provision to utilise disaster management funds for manpower recruitment while the National Health Mission(NHM) has only a limited allocation which will not suffice for the same, it is learnt.
A senior official at the Thiruvananthapuram MCH, while calling for more funds to be sanctioned for carrying out recruitments, blamed the state capital’s failure to check the rate of trasmissibility on the unavailability of adequate infrastructure and resources. The official said if indeed there is a second wave, the vulnerable population is likely to bear the brunt.
“Many districts do not have facilities or healthcare infrastructure similar to those in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam or Kozhikode. Manpower shortage is undermining the containment efforts. The system is drained and it’s high time the government took corrective measures. Even a Rs 20 crore allocation will suffice for the entire state. Lacks of funds meant that no recruitments were carried out for the Covid Brigade which was set up by the government to ride out the crisis.
The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) has decided to boycott official zoom meetings, training sessions and quit official WhatsApp groups in protest against the government for not recruiting additional staff to ease the work pressure. KGMOA general secretary G S Vijayakrishnan said discussions are on but the government hasn’t addressed the issues. “We will continue our protests without causing any hindrance. The authorities should act now before the situation turns fatal for patients. There are only two doctors at Covid First-line Treatment Centres(CFLTC) which are treating patients with comorbidities. When something goes terribly wrong it’s easy to suspend the doctor in charge,” he said.
Doctors on the protest path
A senior official at the Thiruvananthapuram MCH, while calling for more funds to be sanctioned for recruitments, blamed the state capital’s failure to check the rate of trasmission rate on the unavailability of adequate infrastructure and resources.
KGMOA has decided to boycott official Zoom meetings, training sessions and quit official WhatsApp groups in protest against the government