Resident doctors, PG final year students boycott duties in AMC Vizag

Demanding to fulfil their long-pending issues to increase the stipend of senior resident doctors in Andhra Medical College-King George Hospital(KGH) in Vizag, Senior Resident (SR) doctors have decided to boycott their duties. From Tuesday, about 120 senior resident doctors stopped attending to Covid patients, non-covid patients, and emergency duties in AMC. It is learned that final-year PG students and first-year students are also planning to boycott duties, demanding to fulfil their long-pending issues. In a sad state of affairs, this has been the situation in all the medical colleges across Andhra Pradesh.

According to the resident doctors, they have been drawing a stipend of only Rs 44,000, while other states like Telangana have recently increased the senior resident doctors’ stipend to Rs 80,400. Few other states’ senior residents have also been drawing a stipend up to Rs 1 lakh. Despite giving their best services, especially during the pandemic, the senior resident doctors and medical students allege that their efforts haven’t been recognised, and need to be acknowledged.

“Drawing only Rs 44,000 as a stipend, the doctors don’t even get a levy with the TDS. Many senior doctors have families to take care of. The pressing issue here is, while other states have been giving good stipends, why is our government failing to give a thought about it? This issue has been raised for a year now, but there was no response from the State Government. Currently, senior resident doctors have boycotted duties,” said Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors’ Association (APJUDA) President Dr Kiran Kumar.

Following this, it is learned that 170 PG final year students have asked the government to consider them as senior resident doctors, and asked the government to announce the same stipend given to the current senior resident doctors. “When we spoke to the Health Minister, he said they will be giving Rs 60,000, but we are not ready to take that offer. Along with this stipend, we are also asking for Covid-19 incentives to the tune of Rs 15,000, which are given in other states,” said Dr. Kiran Kumar. Clarifying about their boycott during this pandemic, medical students said that they have no intention to trouble the patients but unless this issue has been taken up during these pressing situations, the government wouldn’t know the efforts being put in by the doctors.

Following the boycott on duties by senior resident doctors, medical students in Vizag have decided to go on a strike till their demands are not taken into consideration by the government.