Ms Banerjee also lifted the suspension of seven junior doctors of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) she had earlier announced in wake of death of a newborn due to the use of poisonous saline.
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday hiked the monthly salary of senior doctors, junior doctors, interns and post graduate trainees (PGT) at the state-run hospitals to woo them ahead of the Assembly Election next year.
Ms Banerjee also lifted the suspension of seven junior doctors of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) she had earlier announced in wake of death of a newborn due to the use of poisonous saline.
Further, she cautioned state health secretary N S Nigam and asked him to be “serious” in his job. The senior IAS officer was in the eye of storm of the agitating doctors who had sought his removal from his post for his administrative failure six months ago when the brutal rape and murder of an on-duty PGT at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) shook the nation.
This was also the first time when the CM addressed all the state government doctors at a convention ‘Medical Service is Human Service’ and tried to placate their concerns directly since the brutal crime on August 9 at RGKMCH.
However, West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front, a forum of young medics in the state, which had spearheaded the agitation then, skipped the event in protest.
Ms Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, said, “We earlier increased the salaries of senior and junior resident doctors. But a revision is needed. So we have decided to raise the salaries of senior resident doctors across all levels by Rs 15,000.”
As a result, the senior resident doctors will now receive Rs 80,000 up from Rs 65,000, the postgraduate senior resident doctors will earn Rs 85,000 up from Rs 70,000 and postgraduate senior doctors will get RS 90,000 instead of Rs 75,000. The CM later announced the Rs 10,000 salary-hike for interns, house staff, and PGT.
She then spoke about rolling back her decision of suspending the seven junior doctors among a dozen from MMCH she announced from the state secretariat Nabanna on January 16.
