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Dimapur, April 19 (EMN): Putting weight behind the agitating Nagaland In-Service Doctors’ Association (NIDA), the Nagaland unit of the National People’s Party (NPP) stated that it was not morally right to ignore the apathy of the medical fraternity.
“As a people-centric party, we are always committed beyond politics to voice out the concerns of our people and when it comes to the plight of doctors, all of us must be equally concerned irrespective of any affiliations, as it is beyond any iota of doubt, especially after the world wide pandemic of Covid-19, that the medical fraternity is the first and only line of defence against such crises,” an update from Nagaland NPP stated.
Nagaland NPP has termed as a matter of great worry and shame that the state government has failed to understand and recognise the legitimate demand of the doctors to increase the superannuation age to 62 years. It also condemned the lackadaisical attitude of the state government towards the concerns of government doctors who have been sacrificing the comforts of their homes and families and working extra hours with added risks and threats to their own lives just to ensure that the health and wellness of the people was not compromised.
“If doctors and medical employees can make such huge sacrifices for humanity, why can’t the government even take this step forward? Why can’t they have the political will to listen to their woes and take up the necessary steps to fulfill this legitimate demand? Why should the doctors even demand? Nagaland NPP questioned.
Nagaland NPP stated that it should be the responsibility of the government to keep the welfare of the medical fraternity above all partisan politics and to ensure that they get the best service standards and facilities as per national norms.
It mentioned that the central government had already increased the superannuation age of the central doctors to 65 years way back in 2017 itself. It also reminded the statement of the then union minister of Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda, who remarked that, “Through this forward looking step, the services of experienced doctors shall be available to bring quality health services to the people. It will help in retaining the existing strength of experienced doctors thereby providing better patient care satisfaction.”
Nagaland NPP opined that the increase in superannuation age of government doctors in the state becomes all the more necessary as it would result in retaining the services of qualified and experienced doctors, particularly specialists, so as to benefit the public, especially the poorer sections of the society who are the real benefactors of the government hospitals.
“It is such a shame that when politicians do not have any retirement age why should it be the case with doctors, who are the real messiahs of the people,” it questioned.
NPP Nagaland State further questioned the state government as to what has happened to the lofty promises of setting up two medical colleges in the state for which the centre had already released INR 170.10 crore for Naga Hospital Medical College and another INR 242.50 crore for Mon District Hospital Medical College as per data provided by the MoFHW in the Lok Sabha on December 3, 2021.
It called upon all right thinking citizens of the state including student organizations as well as other civil societies to voice out against the callous attitude of the state government to fulfill the basic needs of the people especially in the fields of medical infrastructure and technical education. It also called upon the state government to take a matured and positive stand once and for all in the matter of increasing the superannuation age of the doctors.
Nagaland NPP further requested the government to take up the responsibility of completing the two earmarked medical colleges on a war-footing and also to give a positive assurance to the public that such medical colleges would be set up in all the districts within a particular timeframe.