Pending stipends continue to be GMC residents’ headache

Nagpur: Resident doctors of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) have been complaining of their stipends being delayed by two to three weeks every month. Last month, a representative from Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) had even met officials from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) on the issue after which an order was sent to deans of all government medical colleges in the state to ensure the doctors get their salaries before the fifth of each month.Despite this, the problem continues.
The letter sent by DMER director to the deans of all 14 state-run medical colleges says that they are to ensure that the pending stipends of all resident doctors be paid before January 5, 2014. For this, funds from the personal ledger account of the college or the dean have to be utilized. In case of insufficient funds, the deans have been asked to get financial aid from the directorate for the director’s PLA. However, this month, some of the resident doctors got their salaries on Monday which was the delay of a week while others are yet to receive theirs.
Officials from the administrative department said that for the past two months, the grants from which the salaries come have not been received from the government and the irregularity will not happen any more. The dean, meanwhile, blamed a clerk for the irregularities in the salary disbursement. He also assured that the person responsible for this would be duly punished.
“Resident doctors are typically in the age group 27-30. Many of us are married and have domestic responsibilities and households to run. With stipend being delayed every month, are we expected to ask our parents for money at this age and stage of life?” asked president of GMCH’s unit of MARD Dr Ayudh Magdum. He informed that till Tuesday, only second year and third year residents had been given their stipend, the first year residents were yet to get theirs.
Administrative officials say that the delays for the last two months were experienced in all medical colleges of the state as the grants had not been sent by the state. Speaking about the delays prior to this, dean Dr Abhimanyu Niswade said, “From what I have come to know, a clerk in the students’ section had been deliberately interfering with the procedure due to some reason. I would see to it that he is removed from this post,” he said. He also assured that with this step, the persistent problem of late issuance of salaries of various cadres would be solved.
The resident doctors, though, doubted that a single clerk would be responsible for this or that his removal would solve the problem. Sources have also told TOI that stipends and caution money of the resident doctors who have already passed out are pending since July 2013.
A COMMON AILMENT
* Others with the same complaint include nurses and Class IV workers such as sweepers, attendants and ward boys among others
* This makes many staffers of the hospital unable to pay their bills and loan installments
* Nurses have often resorted to gheraoing the officials and had even approached the labour court which, too, had ordered the hospital to process the salaries before the 5th of every month
* Class IV workers have went on strikes many times for this reason