Bangalore : There is no need to panic over government medical doctors threatening to go on strike, Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader said on Friday. According to him, his department will make alternative arrangements, if necessary, and ensure proper healthcare services.

Addressing reporters here, he said that he was open to holding talks with the doctors and discussing their demands. “Specialist doctors will not go on strike. Majority of the MBBS doctors have said they will not cause any inconvenience to the people even if they go on strike. Doctors who have real concern will not go on strike,” he added.

When asked about the doctors’ threat to resign en masse on October 27 if their demands are not fulfilled, the minister said that the government would take appropriate decisions if they resort to resignation. But he did not divulge the alternative options before the government.

The department has no objection to fulfilling demands such as increasing the salary of contract doctors to Rs 28,000 a month and chalking out a separate transfer policy. But on providing allowances to the contract doctors on a par with regular doctors, he said that he could not go against the contract agreement. “Why did they sign the agreement in the first place? It is not proper to change their stance after entering an agreement,” he asked. On the demand to retain medical doctors as food inspectors, he said: “How can the government agree with such a demand when there is an acute shortage of doctors. It is unreasonable.”

Following the meeting with the minister, the president of Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA), Dr Veerabhadraiah, said that Khader had agreed to most of their demands. He also agreed to schedule a meeting with the chief minister shortly. “The health minister has assured us that a meeting with the chief minister, law and revenue ministers will be scheduled to discuss the demands. The meeting is likely to be held on October 27,” he added.

The KGMOA has asked the health department not to hand over six district hospitals to the Medical Education Department (MED). The district hospitals in Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Gulbarga, Koppal, Gadag and Uttara Kannada have been scheduled to be handed over to the MED during the current financial year.

The association members have also demanded that the government create the post of Casualty Medical Officers (CMO) in district hospitals to ease the work of specialists. They want eight posts to be created in district hospitals and five in taluk hospitals. Along with this, they have urged the government to increase the salaries of contract doctors.