Aurangabad GMCH MBBS Interns demand stipend hike, Insurance cover

Those who have completed their four-and-a-half years of MBBS course and the additional one-year period of internship have demanded that their stipend become at par with resident doctors roped in for Covid duties. The intern doctors who are receiving Rs 11,000 as a stipend, have made a demand to get at least Rs 50,000.

Also Read: Demanding stipend hike, 850 MBBS interns threaten to go on strike in Bihar

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the intern doctors have claimed that despite doing their duties amidst the pandemic, they are not included in the insurance cover like that of other doctors and healthcare workers. However, the threat of catching the infection is the same for them as well as for their families.

While commenting on the issue, Dr Jagdish Dhote, representative of the intern doctors at GMCH-Aurangabad told the daily that the intern doctors are also exposed to the infection like other medical and para-medical staff.

"While a majority of other health workers are being protected by health insurance, we still do not have such a cover though we have been performing Covid duties for more than a year. Not just us, our family members are also exposed to the risk of sourcing the infection. Therefore, we must get insurance cover," he added.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about a similar demand made by nearly 850 MBBS interns employed in COVID facilities in Bihar. The medicos sought equality in stipend while pointing out that the intern doctors of 8 state-run government medical institutions do not get a stipend at par with Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS) interns.