Resident doctors not paid for months in Gondia hospital

Around 40 resident doctors who have, as per regulations, had to sign bonds and been posted as senior medical officers at Gondia Government Hospital have been struggling to avail their salary for the past four months.

This, despite a written assurance from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) in July 2015, that PG students will complete the bond in their specific field of specialisation, which has also not been followed. However, residents claim they are not given the option of choosing the hospitals where they can complete the bond and also said they are not paid their salaries for months.

PG medical students, in order to complete their specialisation, have to sign bonds and accept postings in obscure pockets of Maharashtra.

Dr Bharat Kumar, a Karnataka-based resident doctor who completed his MD (Paediatrics) from Indira Gandhi Government Medical College (IGGMC) Nagpur in 2015, said that in spite of vacancies in so many colleges, he was asked to choose between Gondia and Dhule.

“After joining as the senior resident doctor at GMC Gondia on February 2, I had notified DMER about the same. (But) I still haven’t got the stipend since the time I joined. The case of all the other residents working for the college is similar,” said Dr Kumar. He added that whenever they enquire with the college authorities, they get only one response — that the funds haven’t been cleared yet and it will take anywhere between a week, month or three months more to clear the salaries.

“I am ashamed to ask my parents to send money for my expenses,” added Dr Kumar.

Central Mard president Dr Sagar Mundada said that as their complaints are falling on deaf years, DMER’s present approach “is nothing but encouraging bond breaking and saving money.”

“This is just another form of bonded labour. Firstly rather than focusing on improving the efficiency of services, doctors are being forced into bond and then they aren’t even paid on time. We want to do the bond and serve but then how will we serve the families if no salaries are paid,” asked Dr Mundada.