Stipend Issues Hit Karnataka Hospital: House Surgeons, PG Medicos NOT PAID Since March

It has been alleged that though the government has already sanctioned Rs 2.36 crore for paying them, the Department of Medical Education (DME) has not released it citing objection by the Principal Accountant General.

Mangaluru: Many of the House-Surgeons and Post-Graduate medicos attached to the Mangaluru- based Government Wenlock Hospital are facing a tough time as their hard-earned salaries have been paid to them since months; despite the amount already being sanctioned by the state government.

It has been alleged that though the government has already sanctioned Rs 2.36 crore for paying the medicos yet, the Department of Medical Education (DME) has not released it citing objection by the Principal Accountant General.

According to recent media account, of those who haven't been paid include 51 MBBS passouts of Kasturba Medical College, who were admitted under the Government quota, and are now pursuing their one-year MBBS internship.36 doctors pursuing their PG at KMC and serving as resident doctors at the Wenlock Hospital have also not received their monthly stipends.

The basic monthly remuneration of a house surgeon is Rs 20,000, while the PG students should get Rs 30,000, Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000 for the first, second and third year of their service respectively.

Last year too, the objection on paying salaries to the PG medicos and house surgeons was raised by the Principal Accountant-General. It has been reported that at that time, the students were not paid their salaries also from March to September last year.

However, the matter was resolved following the representation by students, and the government released the amount later taking cognition of the Karnataka High Court's ruling on the stipend grant cited by the aggrieved medicos.

With the same objection on the stipend this year; a delegation of students met Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy as well as the Health and Family Welfare Minister Shivananda Patil with their representatives.

"Though both of them assured us of action, nothing is forthcoming," a student informed The Hindu.

The daily reports that in September, the Superintendent of Wenlock Hospital, Dr H Rajeshwaridevi wrote to Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Sentil S requesting him to recommend the State government to pay the stipend to the students like how students under the government quota in private colleges get a stipend for serving in government hospitals in other parts of the State.

In the meantime, as per a recent announcement made by the District In-charge Minister UT Khader, he will shortly hold discussions with the Principal Secretary (Medical Education) regarding non-payment of subsidy to house surgeons and postgraduate doctors working in the Wenlock Hospital.

Grievances

Speaking to The Hindu, a house surgeon at the Hospital informed, "I am among the 51 house surgeons taken by the government to serve at the hospital on a monthly stipend. We are toiling hard, serving patients here, but we are being denied the stipend that we ought to get."

Adding to that, a doctor, in his second year of post-graduation, shared, "I have not paid the EMI for the education loan that I have taken as I have not been getting the stipend."

Another PG medico said that he was forced to delay payment of rent.

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