PG Medicos to knock on courts door demanding adjustment of waiting period

Due to the delay in placement, around 29 doctors will not be able to apply to the state health department for posting at government facilities and they will now have to pay the penalty amount of ₹25 lakh to the government for breaking their post-PG service bond.

Previously Medical Dialogues reported that the postgraduate doctors demanded for the adjustment of their nine-month waiting period after the scheduled completion of their course in May last year against the mandatory three-year post-PG bond period in which they have to serve at government health facilities following an already placed delay due to COVID-19. There are around 450 junior doctors after passing their postgraduate examination from state-run medical colleges, who have come forward with the demand.

The Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU) declared the PG results on December 22 last year, following which the doctors are waiting for posting and the state department is yet to notify it. Since last August, when they completed the PG curriculum, which was extended by three months owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, these doctors have not received their full stipend, nor the compensation of a senior resident, which they are entitled to while serving the three-year bond with the government, reports a daily.

As per a recent media report by Hindustan Times, the doctors who have decided to pay penalty for not serving the bond period due to the delay include Bhukya Shankar from Kerala and Arohi Jain from Madhya Pradesh, who have done their PG in medicine; Shijimol G (Telangana), MD in anaesthesiology, all from Patna's Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH), and Shalini (Jharkhand), MD in anaesthesiology from the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) and so on. Belonging from different states, these doctors are eager to return to their native places and stated that a delay of almost 10 months in serving the bond period is equal to losing g a year and this is not justified.

"We would have lost 10 months by the time the government notifies our posting and the doctors join their respective place of posting. To serve another three years in Bihar after the 10-month wait is too long a period. Moreover, we will have communication problems in rural Bihar. As such, I am inclined to break my post-PG service bond by paying up the penalty amount and return to my home state in Kerala," said Dr. Shankar who is from Kerala.

Shijimol G, who hails from Warangal in Telangana also supported Dr. Shankar and told the daily, " We are not responsible for the delay. So, why should we be penalized for it by expecting us to stay for another three years in Bihar? The government should adjust the period of delay beyond May last year against our post-PG service bond." Many of these doctors are married and had an obligation towards their families.

Some others like from Telangana, all postgraduate doctors from the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JLNMCH) in Bhagalpur have applied for a government posting but are still confused about their future course of action. "Our batch mates have already given a representation to the Bihar health department to adjust the delay against our bond period. If the government does not concede our request, we may move the court," said Dr Azmeera.

In state-run medical colleges, PG medicos are paid a monthly stipend of Rs 68,545 in their first year, Rs 75,399 in their second year, and Rs 82,938 in their third and final year. They get a monthly gross pay of roughly Rs 85,000 in the first year, Rs 90,000 in the second year, and Rs 95,000 in the third year during their three-year term as senior residents.