Tamil Nadu: 59 doctors in 15 hospitals to lose jobs to 60 cancer care posts
The protesting members of the Federation of Government Doctors’ Associations urged the government to address their demands, including the immediate withdrawal of the order.
CHENNAI: A section of government doctors in Kilpauk Medical College staged a protest on Tuesday after the Health and Family Welfare Department ordered the surrender of 59 sanctioned posts across 15 medical college hospitals, even as the State faced a significant shortage of medical personnel.
In a government order (GO) dated November 3, the mission director of the National Health Mission and the Directorate of Medical Education and Research has proposed the creation of 60 new posts to strengthen cancer care services at tertiary care hospitals. To facilitate this, the government further directed that an equivalent number of posts be surrendered from various medical colleges that are under the Directorate of Medical Education.
As per the GO, the cancer care posts will be created in institutions such as Madras Medical College, Omandurar Multi-Speciality Hospital, and Government Tirunelveli Medical College. The same GO has also identified 15 medical colleges, including Government Ramanathapuram Medical College, Government Nagapattinam Medical College and Government Namakkal Medical College, where 59 posts, including those of junior residents, assistant professors and associate professors, will be cut. These reductions affect key departments, including general medicine, general surgery, and radiation oncology.
According to the 2025-26 citizen charter of the department, medical college hospitals in the state, on average, treated 40,178 inpatients and 1.15 lakh outpatients a day in 2024-25. Across the 36 medical college hospitals, 5.77 lakh major surgeries are performed in a year.
The protesting members of the Federation of Government Doctors’ Associations urged the government to address their demands, including the immediate withdrawal of the order.
Speaking to DT Next, the association’s convenor, Dr Balakrishnan said more than 1,500 doctor posts remain vacant in government hospitals across the state. He argued that instead of filling existing vacancies and creating new positions, the government’s decision to cut posts would worsen the workload on doctors.
Dr Balakrishnan warned that such reductions could place severe strain on public healthcare services and ultimately affect patient care.