In a letter to the union minister of health and family welfare Mansukh Mandaviya, the Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) has written saying that the resident doctors in government medical colleges in Maharashtra have decided to withdraw from Out Patient Department (OPD) services from tomorrow, 4th December 2021 onwards, due to the unexpected postponement of NEET-PG 2021 counselling which has led to an acute shortage of doctors in the hospitals.
The letter says that at present only 2 batches of residents are present in the hospitals which have led to the overburdening of resident doctors in the country. The doctors are also on the verge of a breakdown.
To mark their protest against the repeated delay of NEET-PG 2021 counselling, the resident doctors have decided to withdraw from OPD services starting from tomorrow.
Dr Akshay Yadav, Sion MARD President, said that “The NEET counselling has been postponed and we are facing a lot of difficulty because of that. In Sion hospital, we have a shortage of around 220 doctors. In Mumbai, there are 700 to 800 doctors less and throughout the country, we have a shortage of around 40,000 to 50,000 doctors.”
“Due to this shortage of doctors, we are really stressed out, we don’t get proper sleep and it is also affecting our health and our preparation for exams. This is also causing a delay in the treatment of patients which sometimes also results in violence towards doctors. With the new variant in the country, we will need more staff but the opposite of that is happening,” Dr. Yadav added.
Through the letter, the doctors have urged the Union government and the Supreme Court to take note of their grievances and take measures for expediting the NEET-PG 2021 counselling and to fast track the court proceedings.
