Doctors won't work; government sits idle, people seethe

Doctors who are working with private and government hospitals will go on strike today. Except for the emergency department, all other services will go in disarray as the doctor's committee has warned to not work from morning 6 am to evening 6. In the wake of the protest, even some previously fixed surgeries are being rescheduled to other dates. Apart from the government doctors, the private ones are also joining cohorts in the protest which will clearly be a muddle for the patients in Kerala. Many voices have been heard wheedling the doctors association to cancel the protest considering the plight of people but to no appeal. It makes no point taking an effort to instill sense in these people since it is the times that are terrible, not people.

Meanwhile, the protest is against the rising manhandling and abuse hurled at doctors across the state. In Kozhikode Fathima hospital, a doctor was beaten up by the relatives of one patient— an impulse behind the suddenly called protest from the doctors' community. Doctors being attacked in the state is no new. There are a copious number of cases to prove it. Doctors are often accused of failure in conduct and inefficacy in treatment, Relatives often barge to rooms in hospitals and eventually a protest also enrolls from the doctor factions. But unlike before, the protest is spreading all across the state—a new thing and a shocking one considering the current season of ailments and more ailments. The doctors clearly know how even a small protest can heave a loss to the state, alas the government should have been vigilant in stopping the attacks it seems.

The supreme court earlier voiced support for the doctors and asked the government to initiate punitive actions against anyone misbehaving with the doctors. However, on the contrary, the government seems to tilt with the attackers and has never given much stock to the plight of doctors. Even, K B Ganesh Kumar MLA made an appalling statement inside the assembly which said “ there are some doctors who deserve beating’. The MLA’s tirade has not helped the cause by any means. However, there is no assurance about the doctors finding a safe haven after the protest. Maybe, things will go worse than before. The times have changed and nowadays scuffles and fights are kind of adulated on social platforms. It is a laurel to anyone who is indulging in fights no matter who is on the other side. It paints you in the light of machoism. Doctors can protest, the government may or may not abide, relatives will again show fury, but in the end, only the poor ones will seethe in pain.