Sudhakar to discuss RGUHS VC issue with governor

Sudhakar to discuss RGUHS VC issue with governor

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:15.06.2021

After the appointment of an interim vice-chancellor for Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences turned controversial, health and medical education minister K Sudhakar said he has sought an appointment with the governor on the issue.

“The matter would have been discussed with the governor, but due to Covid it could not be done. I have written to the governor regarding this. I will discuss this issue in person after getting his appointment. The matter has been discussed with the chief minister and the suggestions given by the CM will also be brought to his notice,” he said.

The minister was speaking at the valedictory ceremony of silver jubilee celebrations of RGUHS on Monday. “RGUHS is India’s largest and prestigious health sciences university. Our government is very clear that a person of eminence, excellent reputation and track record should be appointed VC of this university,” he said.

Dr Jayakara SM, principal, AECS Maruthi College of Dental Sciences, was last week appointed the interim vice-chancellor. Usually, a registrar or a dean of a government college holds the interim post. This is the first time in the history of RGUHS that a private college principal will hold the post of the VC, albeit as an interim arrangement.

Jayakara’s appointment will be effective from June 15 till a VC is appointed or until further orders.

Medicos are avoiding critical care streams

ASSAULTS ON DOCS

Medicos are avoiding critical care streams

FRONTLINE WARRIORS? Association Says Aspiring Docs Are Opting For Dermatology, Radiology To Avoid Stressful Confrontations

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:15.06.2021 

Following repeated instances of doctors being assaulted by irate relatives and friends of patients, many intelligent and deserving medcial students and medicos are choosing specialisations that do not involve emergency care.

“A scared, threatened doctor will eventually learn to safeguard herself. We are already seeing a trend where the most intelligent doctors are not opting for critical care expertise,” say members of Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD).

Dr Dayanand Sagar, president, KARD, said there has been a steep fall in demand to specialise in critical care and emergency medicine. He said the preference among top MBBS  graduates is for branches like dermatology and radiology which involve a safe working environment, fixed working hours, relaxation from night duty, and continuous work. “But this cannot be seen in PG NEET seat allocation data as no seat goes vacant,” he said.

A top doctor heading an ICU unit in Fortis hospital was allegedly assaulted and abused in filthy language on June 12 by a patient’s relative. A nurse working in the critical care team of the hospital was injured in the incident.

Dr Ganesh Prasad Mudraje, chairperson of the harassment committee, Indian Medical Association, Karnataka state chapter, concurred, saying young and aspiring doctors are hesitating to specialise in critical and emergency care.

“When a top doctor is assaulted, naturally younger doctors feel it could happen to anyone,” Dr Mudraje said. “Bright candidates are choosing engineering over medicine and are shying away from becoming doctors. Though there are stringent laws protecting healthcare workers, they are not effectively implemented. These laws are just paper tigers.”

He said incidents of doctors being attacked are occurring almost every week in Karnataka. He pointed out that on the one hand the government calls doctors frontline workers, but on the other they are becoming victims of assault by patients’ relatives. “There is no need to garland us. Respect our work. The imprint of such incidents will remain in the minds of young doctors,” he said.

JUST NOT DONE: Doctors of Fortis Hospital hold a protest against the attack on a colleague by a relative of a Covid-19 patient in Bengaluru on Monday

FORTIS HOSPITAL DOCS STAGE PROTEST

Doctors at Fortis hospital took out a silent march in front of Puttenahalli police station on Monday, condemning the assault on their colleagues. They handed over a memorandum to police officers.

“We are deeply anguished by the violence that took place in the hospital ICU on Saturday, June 12, 2021, wherein a patient’s relatives attacked a senior doctor and a nurse. While the doctor suffered severe head injuries, the nurse sustained grievous injuries to her abdomen,” Fortis hospital said in a statement.

A male patient admitted to the Covid ICU in Fortis hospital on May 5 tested negative on June 3. However, since he had developed severe lung infection and pneumonia, he was shifted to the non-Covid ICU on June 4. The hospital said the prolonged battle with Covid had weakened the patient and his health showed no improvement despite the best medical care.

“At Fortis, we have zero tolerance for any kind of physical or verbal abuse and we assure strict action will be taken against the defaulter,” the hospital said. TNN

Professionals, students travelling abroad yet to get vax certificates

Professionals, students travelling abroad yet to get vax certificates

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: 15.06.2021

The Karnataka government’s decision to open up vaccination on priority for those seeking employment abroad rekindled hope in 38-year-old Milton (name changed), a seafarer waiting for months to report to work on a Gulf-based shipping vessel.

He rushed to a special camp at Bengaluru City University and took the second dose. That, however, has not ended his wait because he is yet to get his vaccination certificate. “If I get the certificate, I can fly out. I’m not sure when that happens.”

There are 157 other foreignbound working professionals and students whose travel plans are stuck over vaccination certificates. Covishield was administered to both categories, including those seeking a second dose after a 28-day gap.

Visa rush freezes US embassy portal

A scramble for interview slots among applicants who have to join US colleges led to glitches on the embassy portal as it resumed processing student visas on Monday. Applicants who kept refreshing looking for a slot were eventually locked out for “suspicious activity” for 72 hours. P 8

None who took 2nd dose got vaccine certificate

The government had organized a drive at the university campus to enable vaccination for students and employees heading abroad. While BBMP officials claimed the impasse is because CoWin does not recognize second doses given before the now-specified 84-day gap, a senior bureaucrat said the issue was rectified on Sunday to accommodate this category of vaccine recipients.

Under the new guidelines, the gap between two doses of Covishield is 84 days. But the state allowed students and professionals to avail the second dose within 28 days due to concerns that their travel plans could be in peril if the nations they are visiting insist on vaccination certificates.

The vaccination drive for 1,470 students and professionals was conducted between June 1 and 11. While all those who took their first dose got their certificates, none of the 158 persons who received their second dose has got it.

“The second certificate will be issued by registering on CoWin with a different phone number (belonging to the person or any family member) and not the one used earlier for the registration. We’ve collected and verified their data to ensure there are no errors. We will share details with BBMP,” said Lingaraju Gandhi, vice-chancellor, Bengaluru City University.

BBMP officials admitted to the issue. “The CoWin glitch was explained to the beneficiaries before the drive. Some became panicky, have been repeatedly asking about the certificate. The issue is being sorted out,” said an officer.

“Registering with a different mobile number could show a different date of vaccination than from the actual. The certificate may show the day of second registration as that of vaccination,” said a source. A BBMP officer said a similar problem could be faced by those who have taken the first dose in the drive.

Scramble for student visas freezes US embassy portal

Scramble for student visas freezes US embassy portal

Saurabh Sinha & Hemali Chhapia TNN

New Delhi/Mumbai

15.06.2021

A scramble for interview slots among applicants who have to join US colleges this fall led to glitches on the embassy portal as it resumed processing student visas in India on Monday.

“We are aware of the high demand for student visa appointments. Please remember, do not refresh too often, as you may be locked out of your account. Appointments remain available at all posts, and we will continue to add appointments as conditions allow,” the US Embassy said in a tweet on Monday after it resumed the process of facilitating travel for those who have to join colleges in July and August.

Students who kept refreshing in the hope of booking a slot were eventually locked out for “suspicious activity” for 72 hours. By afternoon, the site had a message that said: “We are down for maintenance”.

The embassy’s tweet warning students not to refresh too often drew scores of replies. “My account got locked without a prior warning. Many others are facing this issue too. Request you to unlock the accounts, at least this time,” said one. The consulate had held a webinar on June10 to hand out information on visas interviews and pre-boarding requirements. Officials had assured candidates that everyone would get a slot once the process opened. “Student visas remain a top priority for the US Mission to India and we are making every attempt to facilitate student travel in time for the fall semester,” the embassy had said.

However, an aspirant who is flying out for a post-doctoral programme said, “There was no clarity on the time when the embassy would open appointment slots. Many logged in a little after midnight. When we realized the site was not accepting bookings, we slept for a bit and logged in again early in the morning.” Another candidate said slots did open initially for Delhi and Kolkata, but as demand surged and applicants kept refreshing, they were locked out.

Study abroad counsellor Pratibha Jain said, “This is the first time the consulate website has crashed. I am surprised they did not anticipate the rush. Nobody was able to open the site. Going by the previous numbers about 80,000 to1 lakh students must have logged in at the same time; it is like opening a two-by-two door for entry into a large stadium; there is going to be a stampede.” Another counsellor added: “Ideally, the process should have been staggered.” Students who have been locked out have requested the embassy to unblock their accounts. One applicant’s father tweeted asking for locked accounts to be reopened: “Please empathise and let not our kids go through more stress.” Another said: “The site kept crashing leaving us with no choice but to log in multiple times and now we’ve been blocked for 72 hours.”

Students who kept refreshing in the hope of booking a slot were eventually locked out for “suspicious activity” for 72 hours

Doctors from govt colleges hold protest demanding stipend hike

Doctors from govt colleges hold protest demanding stipend hike

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.06.2021

Around 300 resident doctors from major government medical colleges in Chennai gathered at Stanley Medical College Hospital on Monday and staged a black-badge demonstration as their stipend hike demand goes unanswered.

These postgraduate doctors, who have been treating covid patients since the onset of the pandemic, claimed that their monthly stipend remained unchanged for years now.

A non-service PG in Tamil Nadu receives ₹37,000 to ₹47,000 as monthly stipend from the government. This was the lowest in the country, claim Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors’ Association (TNRDA), which met Chief Minister MK Stalin, Health Minister Ma Subramanian and other health authorities recently to present their demand.

Their counterparts at Gujarat earn double of what they earn now. PGs in other states like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh resorted to statewide protests boycotting work. Subsequently, these state governments were forced to revise the pay.

R Vignesh from TNRDA said, “We don’t want to disturb services or treatment offered to patients in any way. That is why we organised a demonstration in which only doctors,who were off-duty or in their resting hours, participated”.

Once covid cases started to reduce, there is a huge backlog of non-covid cases and surgeries to be done. So PG doctors and Compulsory Rotatory Residential Interns (CRRIs) will once again start to work 18 hours a day. So the government should soon provide us with a respectable increase in stipend, he added.

TNRDA wanted the state to increase the stipend annually by 10% so that their juniors will not face the same issue a few years down the line. Though TN ministers have not said no to their demand and agreed to make a proposal, there is nothing official yet.

A senior health official in response said that they were provided with a one-time incentive of ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 and their food, quarantine expenses at star hotelsweretaken careof by the government. Their current demand about stipend is also under discussion, he said.

UP IN ARMS: Resident doctors of city government hospitals during a black-badge protest at Stanley Medical College and Hospital on Monday

No income, Snake Park staring at closure

No income, Snake Park staring at closure

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.06.2021 

The city’s iconic snake park, a pioneer in educating people on reptiles, is staring at closure. Since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, collection from visitors, the main source of revenue, has dwindled and the authorities are struggling to pay salaries to workers.

In normal times, executive chairman S Paulraj said, the annual revenue through visitor entry tickets was around ₹75 lakh (₹6.5 lakh-₹7 lakh per month). Of this, nearly ₹4 lakh a month was spent on salaries for the 20-plus workers and another ₹2 lakh for feeding the reptiles.

Now, with the park locked down and reserve funds fast depleting, it is crisis time, he said. Last year, the park managed the salaries and feed expenses, thanks to some generous donations, Paulraj said.

Despite the tremendous difficulties in getting funds, the park at the height of the pandemic managed to successfully breed Gangetic Ghariyals and pythons in captivity. “This is considered an important achievement with regard to conservation, but it has added to the financial stress of the park,” he said.

The park now houses about 300 reptiles comprising 20 species of snakes, three species of crocodiles, lizards and turtles.

In an effort to tide over the crisis, it has been proposed to run the park with a reduced staff strength and with a 50% pay for the next couple of months.

The Trust that runs the park, being a non-profit organization, has not retained the excess revenue of the past years and has appealed to both the state governor and chief minister to provide funds for running the park and to overcome the financial conditions, he added.

CITY LANDMARK: Indian rock python hatchlings hatched successfully at the snake park in July 2020, at the height of the pandemic

Footfalls at rly stns, airport up as many return to city following relaxations

Footfalls at rly stns, airport up as many return to city following relaxations

Trains From South TN Full; Most Have To Return To Work

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.06.2021 

People who left the city before the lockdown was imposed have started returning since more relaxations kicked in on Monday. Tambaram and Egmore railway stations saw a good crowd that arrived by early morning trains in the past two days.

The number of flights and passengers arriving at Chennai airport outnumbered departures in the past two days. On June 13, there were 53 flight arrivals and 50 departures, with 4,744 reaching the city while only 3,898 left. An airport official said there has been a marginal increase in passenger arrivals in the past few days and airlines are increasing services to Chennai.

Sleeper class coaches in trains that arrived from southern towns were full on Monday. Most of the people were returning from their hometowns to the city for work. As crowds swelled, physical distancing norms and mask compliance were not followed at the railway stations.

Bhagavat Kumar, who travelled from Kanyakumari by KanyaKumari Express, said, “The reserved coaches were full. Many tickets were available a few days ago for travel on Sunday. But they sold out fast soon after the government announced new relaxations later in the week. Tatkal bookings were quick on Saturday for travel by Sunday evening train.” Kumar decided to return to Chennai as he needed to report to office for work. “Most of the people in my coach were returning to the city to join work,” he added.

Many passengers arrived early in the morning and waited for autos and cabs outside the Tambaram station. It took some time for the crowd to clear out as there weren’t enough vehicles available for hire.

A railway official said more people arrived by Sunday morning trains at Egmore and Tambaram railway stations. “Egmore alone saw around 8,000 passengers arriving on Sunday. The number was marginally low on Monday morning as many had reached the city a day early to report to work,” he added.

As rail traffic has increased on inter-state trains to major metros, railways will resume the bi-weekly Rajdhani special to Nizamuddin from June 18 and have already started a special on Yesvantpur-Howrah via Katpadi route.

Similarly, railways have increased frequency of Hatia-Yesvantpur-Hatia special passing via Katpadi, Jolarpet from weekly on June 6. An additional sleeper class coach and an AC III tier coach will be added to Nagercoil – Gandhidham-Nagercoil special from June 22.

BACK TO THE CAPITAL: People who arrived by trains early in the morning had to wait outside Tambaram railway station as enough autos, cabs were not available