Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s public healthcare system is facing a deepening crisis as the indefinite boycott of Outpatient Department (OPD) services by government medical college doctors entered its second day on Wednesday. Despite growing disruptions to patient care, the government is yet to take decisive action.

Doctors have expressed strong resentment after Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday termed the strike “unwarranted.” Protesting what they describe as the government’s disregard for their concerns, doctors have unofficially launched a go-slow, refusing to work beyond scheduled hours and leaving hospitals once their shifts end.

In addition to the OPD boycott and the indefinite strike by faculty members, doctors have announced that surgical procedures will also be boycotted from Thursday (February 19), further escalating the crisis.

OPD boycott hits patients
Under normal circumstances, OPDs at medical colleges attend to nearly 250 patients daily. This number has now dropped to around 150, with only postgraduate students and house surgeons manning the departments.

Patients dependent on regular consultations and medication are being left stranded, forcing many to seek treatment at private hospitals. Economically disadvantaged patients, however, have no choice but to rely on junior doctors. Those requiring inpatient care are being referred to the casualty, where senior doctors on duty decide on hospitalisation.

Although the formal boycott of surgeries is scheduled to begin on Thursday, most doctors began implementing it on Tuesday. They have stopped scheduling procedures for new patients and are asking them to return later.

However, doctors have clarified that emergency surgeries, including those related to road accidents, assaults, and cancer treatment, will continue despite the agitation.

The OPD boycott was first launched on February 2, prompting intervention by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Following discussions, the government sought a week’s time to clear pending salary arrears, leading to a temporary suspension of the protest.

As the assurances remained unfulfilled, doctors resumed the boycott on February 17.

Doctors to halt duty today at 11 am
In response to what they term continued neglect by the government, doctors at government medical colleges will observe a duty halt at 11 am on Wednesday.

The decision follows Minister Veena George’s remark that the strike was unjustified, as the issue had been discussed several times earlier.

Dr Rosnara Beegum, President of the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association, said protests will be organised in front of all medical colleges across the state.

She clarified that essential services—including casualty, labour rooms, ICUs, inpatient care, emergency treatments, emergency surgeries, and postmortems—are exempted from the protest.