No salary from months for Doctors working on Covid-19 treatment in Karnataka

As per a list released by Karnataka Association for Resident Doctors (KARD), senior resident doctors working in 69 government hospitals which includes district, taluk, superseniority, community health centers as well as medical colleges across Karnataka have not been paid four months’ salary amid the pandemic.

From 69, 16 hospitals are under department if medical education and 53 under health department. A protest was held by the doctors in Monday, as KARD revealed doctors were not paid salaries for as many as three months.

According to KARD, as many as 57 resident doctors working at Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences had three months’ salary due, 38 doctors representing Chamrajnagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) were not paid salary for two and a half months, two months salary not credited to 54 at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), and the 80 doctors working for KR Hospital, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) were not paid for a month.

Dr C P Nanjaraj, MMCRI Dean, said that it was only regarding the month of November. “We have to compile the attendance from the places where they were posted. This will be done latest by December 15.”

With the on-going protests, Medical Minister Dr K Sudhakar promised the resident doctors about releasing their due salaries within a period of a week. He said, “The delay is due to technical reasons.”

Doctors all over the state have been complaining regarding the payment dues and the student doctors have an ardent task ahead, with the delay in the termination of their internship.

Dr Carol Harshitha, working at CIMS, revealed to DH that doctors were to be paid Rs. 60,000 monthly. “We are posted to rural areas where we have to fend for ourselves with no accommodation and pay.”

The MBBS house surgeons, who are under the mandatory internship programme, no guidelines are issued about when their internship will terminate. They are intimidated about an extension of three to four months. The students want to prepare for entrance examinations of MD or MS, but instead are hustling with providing Covid-19 treatment.

Dr Gayatri V, a house surgeon at BMCRI said, “Internship is a training period when we have to do undergo mandatory training in hospital services for 365 days, which we have competed. But here, we’re doing only Covid. We want the skillset that a normal merit student possesses. We want clarity on when our internship will end.”

Dr Namrata C, a post graduate student at BMRCI stated over nine months, the government has exploited post graduate students as have failed to employ doctors specifically for Covid-19. She said, “We demand medical colleges to be exempt from Covid work.”

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