The ongoing strike by junior doctors in Andhra Pradesh has drawn a strong reaction from YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. He accused the state government of neglecting the genuine concerns of junior doctors and putting the lives of poor patients at risk by forcing doctors to take to the streets.
Jagan urged the government to immediately invite representatives of the junior doctors for talks and resolve their legitimate demands. He questioned why the government had failed to respond despite nearly 9,000 junior doctors from 19 government medical colleges protesting for nearly two weeks.
Jagan Questions Delay in Stipend Revision
Jagan questioned why the stipend revision, which was supposed to come into effect from January 1 as per government rules, had been withheld.
According to Jagan, Government Order (GO) No. 287 provides for a 15 percent hike in the stipend of junior doctors. He said that during the previous YSRCP government, stipends were increased by as much as 42.4 percent.
He also said that doctors pursuing super-specialty courses were recognized as senior residents and their requests were taken into consideration. Overall, he claimed that stipend hikes higher than the prescribed levels were provided to around 77 percent of beneficiaries.
Jagan further stated that junior doctors in the AYUSH department were also given stipend hikes on par with their allopathic counterparts.
Junior doctors are now demanding a hike of more than 15 percent, citing inflation, rising prices and the increasing cost of living. However, Jagan criticized the government for proposing only a 3 to 5 percent increase, calling it unfair.
Emergency Medical Services Affected
Jagan said that medical services in government teaching hospitals depend heavily on junior doctors. He alleged that the ongoing strike was affecting services in critical departments such as casualty wards, intensive care units (ICUs) and labour rooms.
According to him, poor patients are bearing the brunt of the disruption. He accused the government of adopting a rigid approach toward the junior doctors and urged Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to intervene immediately.
Jagan called for urgent measures to resolve the strike and ensure that medical services in government hospitals continue without disruption.
Jagan Targets Government Over Public Healthcare System
Jagan also launched a broader attack on the state government over the condition of the public healthcare system.
He alleged that pending payments to Aarogyasri network hospitals were already affecting healthcare services. He claimed that the previous YSRCP government had introduced 17 new government medical colleges at once, which he described as an unprecedented initiative in the country.
According to Jagan, five of these medical colleges were completed and classes had commenced, while another was made ready for conducting classes. He claimed that six medical colleges had thus been brought into operation.
Jagan alleged that instead of completing the remaining medical colleges, the present government was attempting to sell them.
Allegations Over Hospitals and Medical Staff
Jagan criticized the government for allegedly halting pending Nadu-Nedu works in government teaching hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
He also alleged that government hospitals were facing shortages of medicines that should be available according to World Health Organization and Good Manufacturing Practice standards.
Jagan claimed that the government had abandoned the zero-vacancy policy and was gradually reducing the 50,000 healthcare personnel recruited during the YSRCP tenure.
He further alleged that the Family Doctor programme had been weakened and specialist doctors had been removed from Community Health Centres.
Criticism Over Village and Urban Clinics
Jagan accused the government of weakening Village Clinics and Urban Clinics and undermining the Aarogyasri healthcare system.
He alleged that the government had accumulated more than ₹3,000 crore in pending Aarogyasri payments, which he said was creating serious problems across the public healthcare system.
He maintained that the government had created multiple challenges in the healthcare sector and urged it to take immediate corrective measures.
Jagan Demands Immediate Talks With Junior Doctors
Jagan called on the government to abandon what he described as an arrogant approach toward junior doctors and immediately invite their representatives for negotiations.
He demanded an appropriate revision of stipends and urged the government to bring the strike to an end at the earliest.
He also appealed to the government to take immediate steps to ensure that poor patients do not suffer because of disruptions in services at government hospitals.
