Kasargod: The authorities are reluctant to approve house surgency in the government hospitals in Kasargod, even four decades after the formation of the district. Both the doctors and the patients would have benefited from the presence of trainee doctors in the hospitals that struggle with severe shortage of healthcare professionals. In other districts, house surgency has been allowed in the district hospital since a long time ago. House surgency is a compulsory one – year clinical training period that follows the completion of the MBBS degree. The severe shortage of doctors in Kasargod district is often raised in the Legislative Assembly. However, neither any organisations nor the elected representatives urge the government to post the doctors hailing from Kasargod in various government hospitals in the district. There are more than 100 vacancies for doctors in various hospitals including the district and general hospitals. The patients are denied proper treatment as specialty doctors are forced to do additional work including the general duty. 

Both district and general hospitals have the facilities to allow house surgency. Besides, the general hospital is part of the Kasargod Medical College. Patients often swarm the district and general hospitals and the doctors have to run around the emergency department and general OP to see the patients. Meanwhile, there have been incidents of patients returning after they were unable to consult the doctor due to long queues and waiting hours.