Testing Times For All, Here’s Why Docs Are Protesting

Testing Times For All, Here’s Why Docs Are Protesting

As Third Wave Looms, Nearly 45,000 Doctors Waiting To Join Workforce Due To Delay In NEET-PG Counselling

Priyangi.Agarwal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:29.12.2021

Nearly 45,000 doctors are waiting to join the workforce but the counselling for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG 2021), which is a process to allot medical colleges to qualified postgraduate candidates, has been delayed, leading to a shortage in hospitals and adding to the workload of the resident doctors. With the third wave of Covid-19 looming large, the residents are asking the government to expedite the counselling process and have struck work to press their demand.

The normal schedule for NEET PG exam is January and the counselling takes place in March-April with the new batches joining the medical colleges in May. The exam was delayed by the pandemic and was conducted only in September, with results declared by the end of that month.

Meanwhile, the government issued a notification on July 29 providing 27% reservation for other backward classes and 10% for economically weaker sections in the all India quota for NEET-PG. The counselling, which was to begin from October 25, was put on hold after some students moved the Supreme Court on the new reservation norms. When the matter was last heard in the apex court on November 25, the Centre sought four weeks to revise the eligibility for the EWS quota from the current limit of Rs 8 lakh annually. The matter will now be heard on January 6.

The residents want the counselling to be conducted quickly. They began the protest on November 27 but called it off later. However, they went back on protest in the second week of December. Dr Manish, president, Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), said, “We have suffered a loss of one year due to the delay in counselling.”

The resident doctors, who are in the second and third year of their postgraduate courses, are managing the workload of three batches. A resident doctor who wished not to be named cautioned, “With a third Covid wave threatening life, the public will face much inconvenience if there is a shortage of doctors.”

Holding up a picture of police dragging him while protesting on Monday at ITO, Dr Shankar Kudari, who claimed to have sustained a foot injury, said, “I am a second-year postgraduate student. My seniors passed in June while my juniors haven’t begun their studies. This means the workforce has been reduced by 33%.” Due to the increased workload in the hospitals, residents were, he said, unable to focus on studies and their theses.

Doctors claimed their duty hours at times stretch up to 48 hours without a break. Dr Deepika Acharya, in his second year of PG, said, “We are on hospital duty for 96-100 hours a week. Recently, I worked without a break for 36 hours. This causes mental and physical exhaustion. We are unable to even give proper time to patients.”

Dr Pulkit Gupta too claimed to have toiled continuously for nearly 48 hours. He said, “Treating patients requires us to take bold decisions. But we are exhausted. A human body needs eight hours of sleep per day, and for six months now, we sometimes work for 48 hours without a break. I take a15-minute nap to function normally during such durations.”

Even if counselling is concluded at the earliest, doctors said it would take at least a month for the new batch to join hospitals. “When doctors in the first year of PG join the institutions, we train them for specialisation for six months. Without proper training, they can’t shoulder the workload,” said Dr Basava Kiran, who is in his third year of PG in anaesthesia at Safdarjung Hospital.

Kiran added, “On top of everything, the candidates who are waiting for counselling are on tenterhooks because they don’t know if they will get a college of their choice.”

SAFDARJUNG HOSPITAL

It has been nearly eight months and our junior batch is yet to join medical college. Due to an increase in workload, I am unable to focus on my thesis

Dr Neha Yadav 27

The counselling for NEET PG 2021 has been delayed, hampering admissions for the current academic year. We want the government to conduct the counselling soon

Dr Puja Yadav 28

We are working with a third of the manpower at a time when Covid cases are on the rise. Around 45,000 doctors are sitting at home and waiting to join hospitals

Dr Jaskaran Singh 26

We are working 70-80 hours a week. At times, we don’t get a break for 36 hours

Dr Mohammed Ameen 27

Our demand is not unethical. We are not here to do politics. Hospitals are running at a capacity of 66% doctors and, hence, we want the counselling to be conducted soon

Dr Ajit Singh 28