Covid gains for medicos as avg salary rises by 25%

Covid gains for medicos as avg salary rises by 25%

Parth.Shastri@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:26.06.2021 

When Dhanvantari Covid Hospital started functioning, the advertisement for various positions indicated monthly salary of Rs 2.5-Rs 3 lakh for specialists and Rs 1.25-Rs 1.5 lakh for MBBS graduates with GMC registration. The pay package was about twice what the doctors were drawing at government hospitals. Similar moves across the health sector also resulted in correction in salaries of resident doctors.

Covid pandemic put the healthcare sector in sharp focus, with the first wave marked by fear and second by apprehension. “By mid-April, many were exhausted. There was seemingly non-stop queue of patients. Many were getting serious and needed transfer or midnight assistance. Doctors worked round-the-clock with no other way out,” said a junior doctor at the Civil Hospital on condition of anonymity.

Thus, healthcare workers in both government and private sector gained, even as some of the demands are pending and a few agitations are still going on.

Babu Thomas, CHRO of Shalby Group of Hospitals, said that the rise in incentives is directly linked to the risks that healthcare professionals are exposed to during the pandemic. “In the first wave, 200 of our staff members were infected with Covid-19. This dropped to 13 in the second wave due to factors like vaccination. The salary parity of clinical staff thus rose 20-25% across the sector. Moreover, those working in Covid wards were also provided additional incentives,” he said.

Would the rush for healthcare workers continue? Thomas said that hospitals like his have retained majority of the staff members. “It’s likely that the healthcare workers would be in demand for at least some time. In addition to our existing staff, we have also kept a few fresh nurses on call if we need to scale up the operations at a short notice,” he said.

Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association , said that from doctors to paramedics, those on Covid duty got 50% incentive of their salary on top of the salary hike. “Not just hospitals, several Covid care centres also opened up, and the state government also launched a major recruitment drive. This increased demand. The salary was also hiked to retain talent,” he said. “I believe that the trend is likely to continue.”