Medical postgraduate students at Government Medical College Hospital, (MCH) Kozhikode, have sought changes in the duty list prepared for e-Sanjeevani, the tele-consultation project launched by the Health Department, for people who cannot reach the hospital due to the pandemic.
According to the functionaries of the Calicut chapter of the Kerala Medical Postgraduates Association (KMPGA), senior doctors normally handle the outpatient services at the MCH. e-Sanjeevani is to help people get OP services without coming to the institution. The order issued by the Director of Medical Education had specified that doctors who cannot be on COVID duty due to health reasons or others can be assigned the tele-consultation project.
However, M.V. Amish Rahi and M.C. Adeebu Zaman, KMPGA leaders, said postgraduate students were being assigned this duty now. This was happening at a time when their academic work had been halted with most of the medical teachers being busy.
‘Only in seniors’ presence’
“The new strategy seems to be choosing medical PG students wherever there is a gap in services,” they said. It is not clear why medical PG students were put on this duty when the Directorate of Health Services has many specialist doctors under it. The move to assign medical PG students for e-Sanjeevani duty would deprive common people a chance to get the services of senior doctors.
Mr. Zaman said they were willing to join duty only in the presence of senior faculty members from the college. “We have informed the authorities that the medical PG students will not be part of the project if this demand is not met,” he added.
