Guwahati: The All Manipur Health Service Doctors’ Association (AMHSDA) has issued a warning that the state’s ongoing demonstrations will intensify and that all medical facilities throughout Manipur will shut down permanently starting on February 14.
At a news conference held on Saturday at the Manipur Press Club, the general secretary of the AMHSDA, Dr. Lolee P Nao stated that the association was not pleased with or convinced by the state government’s reaction to their protest at the most recent Manipur Assembly session on February 3.
According to Dr. Nao, the minister in issue had originally promised them in December of last year that their concerns would be discussed at a cabinet meeting. At contrast, their requests received no attention at all in the subsequent cabinet meetings.
He claimed that the association had reduced its expectations to only four main areas at the government’s request but that up to this point none of the demands had been satisfied.
The general secretary of the AMHSDA continued by saying that one of their demands was for staff to receive time-limited promotions. They claimed that although the state government had introduced the same promotion mechanism for employees of other government departments, it had not done so for medical professionals.
The Manipur government’s disregard for their demands demonstrates that it does not care about the welfare of healthcare workers, he continued.
Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in 2016 that the superannuation age for doctors would be raised from 62 to 65 years for both the central and state governments. According to Dr. Nao, the Manipur government removed it after first extending the age as per the PM’s instructions.
He stated that the state government is in charge of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal as well as other health services. Dr. Nao went on to say that the extension of JNIMS’ superannuation period to 65 years while keeping that of health service doctors at 60 years is regrettable and condemnable.
The AMHSDA general secretary also stated that the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission in 2016 and the amendment of the Manipur Health Services rule are two of their major initiatives.
It should be noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a doctor-to-patient ratio of one to 1,000, but in Manipur, the ratio is one to 1,300 to 1,400. Manipur has a population of 30 lakh people, so the state should have 3,000 doctors. However, this is not the case, and Manipur has a severe shortage of doctors, according to Dr. Nao.