State medical body urges CM to intervene
DHANBAD: Protest by resident doctors of Rajendra Institute of Medical Science ( RIMS) in Ranchi and five other government medical college hospitals entered its second day on Tuesday to demand payment of arrears pending for last three years, as per the 7th pay commission’s recommendations. Pressing for their demands, doctors of RIMS demonstrated before the hospital director’s chamber, officials said.
Meanwhile, the state Indian Medical Association (IMA) shot off a letter to chief minister Hemant Soren seeking immediate intervention in the issue.
“Resident doctors are the backbone of health department and medical colleges hospital health services. In their absence, services would be paralysed. So, you (chief minister Hemant Soren) are requested to step in immediately and solve the issue in the interest of health services in the state,” state IMA president Dr AK Singh said in his letter.
The resident doctors started to work under protest from Monday while wearing black badges, and will continue to do so till March 7, as informed by Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) to the health department. They will go on to boycott work from March 8 if their demands were not met, they said earlier on February 28.
The 7th pay scale was implemented in 2016 and Jharkhand government started salary payment from 2019. Earlier, the state government announced to clear the arrears of 2016-2019, but despite repeated reminders, no action was taken so far.
“It’s ironical that the neighbouring states of Bihar and Odisha have given two months’ salary incentives to their resident doctors for services during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Jharkhand government has not even cleared arrears,” said Dr Ajit Kumar, RDA state convener.
Resident doctors are the backbone of health department and medical colleges hospital health services.
DR AK SINGH, state IMA president