Karnataka Government Doctors Announce State-Wide Protest Over Unresolved Demands
The Karnataka Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) has declared a comprehensive state-wide protest beginning March 11, with doctors and staff across all cadres participating to press for multiple long-standing demands. Dr Deepak Rai, president of the KGMOA's Dakshina Kannada district unit, made the announcement to reporters on Friday, outlining a phased approach that could escalate to a complete service shutdown.
Phased Protest Strategy and Service Disruptions
From March 11 to 15, outpatient departments in all government hospitals across Karnataka will remain closed, though emergency services will continue to operate. Medical personnel will attend to emergency cases while wearing black badges as a symbolic protest. Dr Rai issued a stern warning that if the government fails to respond to their demands, all medical services will cease entirely from March 16 onward.
The association formally raised their concerns with the government on February 13, providing advance notice of their protest plans. Dr Rai emphasized that the cadre and recruitment rules governing medical officers have remained unchanged since 1973, creating significant career stagnation within the department.
Core Demands and Systemic Issues
The KGMOA has presented several critical demands to the state government:
- Career Progression Reforms: Updating the seniority list and addressing promotion stagnation. Dr Rai noted that no officers or staff in the department have received promotions in the past five years, creating widespread demoralization.
- Medicine Supply Crisis: Ensuring regular and adequate supply of essential medicines. Dr Rai highlighted severe shortages of insulin, antibiotics, and other crucial medications. Even after placing orders through the e-Aushada portal, medicines frequently fail to arrive on time, forcing hospitals to use their limited funds for emergency procurement.
- Appointment Process Reforms: Routing appointments to N-Cadre posts in autonomous institutions under the medical education department, food safety and quality department, city corporations, and municipalities through the health department to ensure proper oversight and qualification standards.
- Staffing Vacancies: Filling all vacant positions for doctors, paramedical staff, and other cadres to address critical understaffing in government healthcare facilities.
- Contract Worker Protections: Providing job security and better pay for contract workers and National Health Mission (NHM) staff. Dr Rai revealed that many of these workers receive salaries only once every three to four months and demanded that the government ensure salary disbursement occurs during the first week of every month.
Broader Implications for Healthcare Services
The planned protest threatens to significantly disrupt healthcare services across Karnataka, particularly affecting patients who rely on government hospitals for affordable treatment. The phased approach beginning with OPD closures followed by potential complete service stoppage represents a calculated escalation strategy designed to maximize pressure on authorities while maintaining emergency care availability.
Dr Rai's announcement underscores growing frustration among medical professionals who feel their concerns about systemic issues in Karnataka's public healthcare system have been consistently ignored. The association's demands touch on fundamental aspects of healthcare delivery, from medication availability to career progression and timely salary payments for frontline workers.
The coming days will test the government's responsiveness to these critical healthcare workforce concerns as the March 11 protest deadline approaches. The situation highlights broader challenges facing public healthcare systems across India, where infrastructure limitations, staffing issues, and resource constraints frequently intersect with workforce dissatisfaction.
