Hyderabad: Since the Government has not yet solved the issue of non-payment of salaries, the senior doctors in Telangana opted for the path of protest from Wednesday. Around 698 senior doctors employed at 29 hospitals under 18 medical colleges in Telangana have now boycotted elective services including outpatient and ward.
They have further warned the authorities of discontinuing emergency services from July 1, i.e. Doctors' Day, if the authorities do not fulfill their demands on an urgent basis.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the senior resident doctors working at the government hospitals in Telangana were threatening to boycott emergency and elective medical services due to the non-payment of their salaries which have been allegedly pending for three to seven months.
Writing a letter to Health Minister T. Harish Rao, the senior resident doctors had urged him to look into their issues and asked him to direct the officials to pay the stipend amount and the pending salary. The resident doctors have warned the government of going on a strike if their demands are not met immediately.
Around 698 doctors started working at 18 government medical colleges and attached hospitals across the State as Senior Residents from November 2021. However, many of them have not received their salaries for two to seven months. The monthly salary of the resident doctors is Rs 80,500.
Also Read: Telangana: Senior Resident Doctors threaten to boycott duty over non-payment of salaries
Members of the Telangana Senior Resident Doctors Association (TSRDA) stated that many of these senior resident doctors are also married due to which they have added responsibilities. Salaries of senior resident doctors at the Osmania Medical College, Niloufer hospital, MNJ Cancer Research Institute, Chest Hospital, and ENT Hospital have been pending for three months. Senior doctors in RIMS have not received their pay for the last five months.
However in the case of senior residents at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, Government Medical College-Mahbubnagar, and Institute of Mental Health, they have not been paid since the day they started working in November 2021, which is around seven months. The senior residents of nearly 13 hospitals have been waiting for their salary for three months, whereas some doctors working at two other hospitals have not been paid for two months.
Earlier, TSRDA had issued a strike notice to the Director of Medical Education on Monday, where the association had warned about holding stage protest demonstrations in a a phased manner. Referring to the continuous service of the senior residents at their respective hospitals and medical colleges, the strike notice mentioned how the doctors cater to the patients even without the availability of proper accommodation, conveyance and other basic facilities.
"We have been working without our stipends in the best interest of the patients. But our threshold has been breached and our financial responsibilities have become overwhelming... Hence, we are planning a protest in a phased manner," said the strike notice.
"While some senior residents did not receive stipends since they joined in November 2021, all others were not paid salaries in the last four months…The lack of response from the authorities despite repeated persuasion is disheartening. We have been working without stipends in the best interest of the patients. But our thresholds are breached and our financial responsibilities have become overwhelming," the letter said. "At this juncture, though unwillingly, we are forced to protest for our rightful payment to support our families," it added.
As per the latest media report by Indian Express, 11 such senior residents belonging to Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital staged a protest on the matter on Tuesday. Similarly, the doctors held another protest outside the office of DME for pressing their demands. The New Indian Express adds, since the matter has not been solved yet, around 698 senior doctors belonging to 29 hospitals under 18 medical colleges staged a protest against the government and from Wednesday onwards the doctors have started boycotting the elective services including the outpatient and ward.
However, the doctors have warned of discontinuing emergency services as well from July 1, if their demands are not met immediately.
While commenting on the issue, a senior doctor told Indian Express, "We are in our thirties and we have not begun our careers yet. We have spouses and aged parents to take care of. How do I explain that even after a post-graduation in medicine, we have to borrow money from friends and families to live a regular life? If the government had not forced us to do one year of compulsory service, we would have found well-paying jobs."
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