Unplanned transfers crippled health services: Anagani
Doctors quitting or going on long leave
Govt should restore proper health services
AMARAVATI: TDP Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad on Sunday urged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to stop anti-doctors policies so as to restore normal services at the Government hospitals in the State.
In a letter to the CM here, Satya Prasad said unplanned transfers turned the health system chaotic due to shortage of doctors and staff. In addition to this, power cuts further complicated the situation leading to children’s deaths and patients’ increased suffering. It may be recalled that three children died at RIMS in the CM’s own Kadapa district due to power cuts.
The TDP MLA told the Chief Minister that the situation was slipping out of control such that deliveries were being held under torchlights. As doctors were transferred en masse at once, the health services came to a grinding halt. Patients were suffering due to the stoppage of emergency services.
Satya Prasad said the conditions in teaching hospitals have deteriorated completely. At one go, over 80 percent of doctors and staff were transferred without considering its harmful consequences. The situation was so bad that the doctors were personally guiding patients to join private hospitals to reduce their suffering.
Condemning the YCP regime, the TDP MLA recalled how the previous Chandrababu rule transferred only willing doctors. There was no such rule to transfer all those above 5 years standing in one place. No obstruction was caused to medical services. Transfers for long standing doctors had also not crossed 20 percent at that time. All these norms were cancelled after the YCP came to power.
Satya Prasad said there was nothing wrong with taking action against doctors who were solely focusing on private practice. But, transferring all the doctors without following the 20 percent norm was objectionable. The transfers would have a bad impact on the medical students as it was the middle of their academic year.
The TDP MLA termed it as thoughtless on the part of the Government to transfer doctors prior to their promotions. As a result, some doctors had to get transferred again within two to three months because of promotions. This kind of a pitiful situation arose for the first time in the State.
Satya Prasad said the transferred doctors were either going on long leave or resigning. This had caused severe shortage of doctors leading to great suffering for the patients. The doctors gave non-stop services even in the Coronavirus threat amid lack of facilities from the Government. But now, they were being victimised through transfers.
The TDP MLA deplored that while all other States were strengthening the health sectors after the Covid-19 pandemic, the AP Government was showing gross negligence towards health needs of the public.