Stipend for house surgeons and non-service PG doctors hiked

Stipend for house surgeons and non-service PG doctors hiked

Heeding the long-pending demand of doctors, the Health Department has hiked the stipend for house surgeons and non-service post graduate and higher specialty courses doctors.

Published: 31st July 2021 07:08 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Heeding the long-pending demand of doctors, the Health Department has hiked the stipend for house surgeons and non-service post graduate and higher specialty courses doctors. Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan issued the G.O. after representatives of the Residential Doctors Association and other associations petitioned Health Minister Ma Subramanian recently.

The Association had said that non-service post graduate students of government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu were being paid lower wages as stipend when compared to medical colleges in certain other States, and Central government medical colleges.

Along with the stipend hike, the government has also ordered for an annual increase of Rs 600 in stipend for house surgeons and Rs 1,000 in stipend for non-service PG degree, diploma and high specialty doctors. An automatic annual increase of 3 per cent to the previous year stipend shall also be allowed. The order has already come into effect.

Appreciating the government for this hike, Dr M Keerthy Varma, board member of Residential Doctors Association, said, “We are happy that the hike was allowed even at a time when the State is in an economical crisis induced by the pandemic. We had just met the Health Minister and given our representation. We didn’t expect action to be taken this quickly. However, the increased amount is still lower than stipends provided in certain other States. Some States even pay around Rs 80,000 for first-year PG degree students. But we are satisfied with this hike and it gives us confidence that the government will fulfil all our valid demands in the future too.”