Members of Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors’ Association urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to increase the stipend of non-service postgraduate doctors and address a few other of their demands. A letter with signatures from all the student doctors stated that taking into consideration the number of working days and hours, a stipend hike amounting to a total of Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000 per month should be considered to non-service MD and MS PG students respectively.
Likewise, for non-service postgraduate and super specialty PG students, a stipend hike should be considered to revise the payment to at least Rs 80,000 and Rs 90,000 per month, the letter said. Some the reasons mentioned by the doctors in the letter for government to consider a hike are as follows:
“With the spike in COVID-19 caseload, the non-service PG doctors are working sans leave, although as per the MGR University norms, they are eligible for 52 days of week offs and 23 days of vacation in a year. However, as it is mandatory for students to have 90% attendance to sit in the exams – the students are currently overworked and underpaid. Further, the PG doctors are working 100 hours a week, juggling both emergency cases and elective cases throughout the day. While on the other hand, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare mandates PG doctors to not work more than 12 hours a day.”
“Most of the students currently pursuing postgraduation and super specialty come from marginalised and middle-class families. Financial insecurity has been a major cause for mental health issues among PG students in Tamil Nadu as we are unable to ask for money from our families,” said an Association member.
The Resident Doctors’ Association members also pointed out that it is high time that medical colleges in Tamil Nadu had a couple friendly hostels for those married. “With insufficient stipend it’s a challenge to rent a house outside and make ends meet,” the Association member said.
Meanwhile, as per reports, states such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal have revised the stipend for student doctors. In Tamil Nadu, PG doctors pursuing MD/MS are paid Rs 39,000 and super specialty postgraduate doctors are paid Rs 45,000 per month.
“The letter represents the voices of all PG students and super speciality doctors of all medical colleges in Tamil Nadu. The government should pay heed to our demands and consider hiking the stipend at least for our service during the on-going pandemic,” the letter to the CM said.