Very few patients were seen in the OR department of Kozhikode State Medical College Hospital on Wednesday. | Photo credit: K. Ragesh
Academic work and outpatient (OP) ward services continued to be disrupted at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode on Wednesday as the ongoing indefinite strike by the Kerala State Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) entered its third day.
The situation is now expected to worsen as the striking doctors have announced that they will boycott non-emergency surgeries from Thursday. The Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association (KMPGA) has also announced a token strike for the day.
Most of the senior doctors were conspicuously absent from the OP ward on Wednesday. Graduate students and resident surgeons were deployed to serve patients. The KMPGA release said the ongoing teachers’ strike had significantly increased the clinical workload for resident doctors, with them almost exclusively managing operative and inpatient care.
In addition, regular academic meetings remain suspended, resulting in lost training opportunities. This situation placed additional workload, responsibility and stress on resident doctors, which ultimately affected both medical education and the quality of patient care, KMPGA officials said.
They also raised issues like increasing stipend for PG students, barring appointment of non-medical candidates to the post of Assistant under the Directorate of Medical Education through the Kerala Public Service Commission and immediate clarification and resolution of the ongoing seniority appointment dilemma.
Published – 18 Feb 2026 22:15 IST