Agartala - With the continuous rise in Covid-19 deaths, the Tripura government has replaced the services of five faculty members of Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC), the only COVID hospital of the state, with an equal number of specialist doctors of other hospitals.
The faculty members, however, termed the transfer as an illegal and inhuman attitude of the government. They said according to Tripura Medical Education Service Rules, the faculty of medical college cannot be transferred to any other hospital under Health Service; instead, the specialist can be deputed for a short period in case of a serious health emergency.
The order stated that three assistant professors of AGMC to state referral hospital IGM while one was posted in a Sub-divisional hospital and another to a district hospital and five specialist doctors from those hospitals were posted at AGMC.
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Meanwhile, the official sources said that the administration was compelled to replace the service of the faculty members to the hospital because all the five had sought exemption from COVID duty on the ground of their age and critical ailments. Meantime, the central expert team suggested bringing specialist doctors in COVID hospital besides upgrading the quality of services.
"Unless services of those faculties are placed in the respective hospitals how can we lift the specialist doctors from there? So, we have only exchanged the posting of the doctors and faculty members to deal with the COVID situation. Neither, they were demoted nor transferred forever – as soon as COVID situation improves they will be brought back to medical college," said a senior official of the health department.
He further pointed out that to run the COVID hospital department needs specialist doctors – not faculty members. The administration tried to mobilize the resources whatever available in AGMC for the past six months and even the post-graduate students and some set of young doctors have been pulled to COVID duty multiple times, which was vehemently discouraged by the central expert team.
"If some doctors seek exemption of COVID duty citing the reason for their age and serious ailments, the department has to keep them away from COVID hospital but cannot send them back home or ask them to leave. The better option was chosen to replace them with the doctors posted in different hospitals but willing to do COVID duty and there is no option left," officials added.
Meanwhile, after a brief lull, the fatality rate of COVID has again been on the rise in the past two days in Tripura as it registered 1.10 % with the death of eight more persons in the past 24 hours the death toll has risen to 298, but significantly the recovery rate has improved to 81.39 % in the state.
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