Pay disparity triggers exodus of senior doctors at KGMU

Lucknow: In the past two months, seven senior doctors have resigned from their positions at King George's Medical University (KGMU), citing low pay compared to other government or private hospitals and a uniform pay structure for all faculty, despite longer working hours. This has led to a faculty crisis at the institution.

The trend is neither new nor uncommon, as several doctors in the past have left for better opportunities in the private sector. However, such exits have left the institution handicapped. With fewer senior doctors, the treatment load has become more hectic for those who remain, as the responsibility of a large number of patients falls on their shoulders.

The seven doctors who have resigned include- Dr. Manu Agarwal (Psychiatry), Dr. Tanvi Bhargava (Anaesthesia), Dr. Ashok Kumar Gupta (Plastic Surgery), Dr. Karan Kaushik (Cardiac Anaesthesia), Prof. Ajay Verma (Respiratory Medicine), Prof. Kshitij Srivastava, and Prof. Adarsh Tripathi (Psychiatry).

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While Dr. Bhargava has joined SGPGIMS, Dr. Gupta moved to the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, and Dr. Kaushik has accepted a position at a private hospital.

Similarly, Prof Ajay Verma has been appointed as the head of department at RMLIMS, Prof Kshitij Srivastava joined a private hospital in Alambagh, and Prof Adarsh Tripathi (psychiatry) is currently serving his notice period.

Notably, the university had earlier lost several distinguished specialists, including Dr. Madhukar Mittal (Endocrine Medicine), Dr. Sant Pandey (Nephrology), Dr. Sunil Kumar (Neurosurgery), and Dr. Anupam Wakhlu (Rheumatology), along with others from various super-speciality departments.

Regarding the reasons for departure, senior faculty members at KGMU primarily cite financial disparities. They pointed out that a government assistant professor earns around Rs 1.25 lakh per month, with salaries rising to about Rs 3 lakh at the professor level. In comparison, private hospitals offer packages several times higher, often exceeding Rs 10 lakh per month, along with additional incentives.

Another key concern is the uniform pay structure across all faculty, regardless of specialisation. Super-specialists, despite investing several extra years in training and handling longer clinical hours, receive the same pay and benefits as colleagues in non-clinical departments.

These two factors remain the key reasons for doctors leaving KGMU for other government or private institutions, as many feel the system is unfair. While some KGMU professors claimed that the resignations were due to personal reasons, others argued that the opportunity to serve poor patients would no longer be available in private hospitals.

Speaking to TOI, KGMU spokesperson Prof KK Singh said, "The doctors who have resigned joined recently. Some have left for appointments in other institutions, while others cited personal reasons."

However, the KGMU Teachers' Association has called for broader policy changes. Prof Santosh Kumar, the association's general secretary, said, "The govt should formulate a policy for doctors educated in govt institutions. There is job security here and immense scope to serve the poor, which is not the case in the private sector."

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