Kolkata, Feb 24 West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a medical convention on Monday, announced a major salary hike for government doctors in the state.
At the same time, the CM also announced the lifting of suspension on the doctors of Midnapore Medical College & Hospital in West Midnapore district who were suspended by the state government a couple of months ago on grounds of alleged negligence towards duty following the death of a woman.
However, even during the announcement of lifting of the suspension, the Chief Minister reiterated that there had been an instance of medical negligence in the matter.
The state government’s decision to suspend the doctors had attracted large scale criticism since lots of circumstantial developments hinted that the death was due to administering expired Ringer’s Lactate.
With regards to the salary hike for doctors at all levels, the Chief Minister, announced that the monthly salary for senior state government doctors would be increased by Rs 15,000 per month.
For junior doctors including post-graduate trainees and post-doctorate trainees, house-staff and interns, the monthly salary hike would be to the tune of Rs 10,000 per month.
The Chief Minister made these announcements while addressing a doctors’ convention titled ‘Medical Services is Human Service’.
At the convention, the Chief Minister also announced that the doctors attached to different state-run hospitals or state-run medical colleges & hospitals would be able to do private practice after attending daily duty for eight hours at the state government health outfits.
However, West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), an umbrella body of different junior doctors’ associations in the state which spearheaded the movement on the R.G. Kar rape and murder tragedy, did not send any representative to the convention.
According to WBJDF representatives the convention on Monday was nothing but an eyewash since lots of promises made by the state government on the state’s health care system in the wake of the R.G. Kar protests were to be fulfilled even after six months.
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