Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar in urgent need of medical professionals to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, especially after all three districts reported spike in cases
Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, doctors’ scarcity is looming large in Mysuru, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar districts. The vacant positions need to be filled up soon, especially when the cases are surging alarmingly.
Sourcing well-trained doctors has become a challenge in the districts with the health emergency putting more pressure on the infrastructure and the already-stressed staff.
In all three districts, the shortage of nursing and paramedical staff is over 50 per cent. With the backing of temporary/contract staff, hospitals and PHCs are battling the pandemic.
In all three districts government medical colleges and their teaching hospitals are reshuffling doctors and other staff to deal with the situation.
In Kodagu, 120 doctors’ posts are vacant in both the hospitals run by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Medical Education Department. The Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), which is running the designated COVID-19 hospital in Madikeri, and the CHCs and PHCs of the Health Department are struggling to get doctors on contract basis.
Seven doctors’ posts for the COVID-19 hospital need to be filled up immediately. Likewise, posts of 40 junior resident doctors, 23 senior resident doctors, 16 assistant professors, and 4 associate professors are vacant. Nine posts of anaesthetist are vacant in the Health Department besides the posts of gynaecologist and paediatrician.
The response to the announcement about vacancies has so far been tepid. This perhaps led Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy to urge the doctors of Kodagu origin to return to their homeland and help in managing the crisis.
Kodagu and Chamarajnagar districts have limited healthcare resources. Many large private and corporate hospitals are operated in Mysuru, and these two districts look up to them during emergencies.
In Mysuru, the newly-built district hospital (under Health Department) was converted into the designated COVID-19 hospital. The district hospital was inaugurated without doctors and staff. Sources in the department had said the hospital needed about 400 staff members, including 60 doctors, 207 paramedical staff, 100 staff nurses, and 28 administrative staff.
Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), which runs the KRH and Cheluvamba hospitals, has diverted doctors and staff from its teaching hospitals to balance the situation until the posts are filled.
“I have to arrange doctors for the COVID-19 hospital, the KRH and the Cheluvamba. The pandemic has doubled the load on our doctors. I am looking for anaesthetists and physicians but I am not getting them. Somehow the situation is being managed with the available doctors,” said MMCRI Dean and Director C.P. Nanjaraj.
Chamarajanagar district, which was in green zone earlier and later reported a spike, is also not getting doctors to deal with the situation. The health authorities have been told to recruit the staff for six months on contract basis but the response is lukewarm. The district is in need of 20-25 doctors immediately. It is facing a 50 per cent shortage of paramedical staff. A senior health official said, “We are ready to recruit doctors beyond the sanctioned limit for the district hospital to handle COVID-19 cases.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – July 23rd, 2020
