AMHSDA urges Govt to honour demands of striking doctors
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, February 27 2023:
While urging the government to fulfil demands of doctors working under state health services at the earliest, All Manipur Health Services Doctors' Association (AMHSDA) has warned that the demand for a separate health directorate may be raised if the other demands of the striking doctors are not honoured within short notice.
Addressing media persons at Manipur Press Club, here, on Monday, general secretary Dr Lolee P Mao said that AMHSDA initially raised eight demands to the government but the demands were reduced to only four following the government's request.
The government gave repeat ed assurances of honouring the four demands but nothing has been forthcoming till date, he said, while regretting that the cease work strike launched by the doctors has been affecting people particularly in the hills.
The main demand of AMHSDA is time-bound promotion or time-bound scale but the government remains adamant even though doctors who worked for more than 20 years have retired or died without getting any promotion, he said and suggested that doctors could be given time bound scale if not promoted.
In view of acute shortage of doctors in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi increased the superannuation age of doctors to 65 years to ensure medical care to poor people and this is applicable to both the state and the Centre.
CM N Bi-ren himself had announced during a public event about shortage of specialist doctors in Manipur.
Apart from this, none of the health facilities in the hills areas including dis -trict hospitals have adequate doctors and there is shortage of doctors despite opening of more medical colleges in the state, Dr Lolee pointed out.
As per the WHO guideline, there must be one doctor for every 1,000 people but the state is yet to heed the global guideline and continues with the out dated Manipur Health Services (MHS) Rules 1982 .
The state should have more than 3,000 doctors corresponding to the state's population of around 30 lakhs, the secretary said and asked as to how could the existing 1,300/1,400 doctors ensure satisfactory service to the entire population of the state.
While reiterating that Manipur Health Services Rules 1982 is out-dated and it must be amended from time to time, Dr Lolee P Mao appealed to the government to amend the existing MHS Rules and fulfil all the demands of AMHSDA.