Says present stipend was at par with minimum wage of daily wagers
Asks CM to fast track appointment of interns into PCMS to raise strength of doctors to counter COVID-19
Chandigarh, April 21, 2020: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to immediately increase the stipend of medical interns who were assisting in the State's fight against COVID-19 besides inducting them into the Health department keeping in view the need to raise the strength of doctors in the State.
In a statement here, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the ridiculously low stipend being given to medical interns in Punjab had been highlighted by the Medical Student Association of the Government Medical College, Amritsar recently. "Medical intern Dr Kirat has also tweeted that the stipend of Rs 300 per day is nearly at par with the minimum wage of Rs 325 of a daily wager. This situation needs to be corrected immediately. The interns are assisting in the fight against COVID-19 and the State should do its utmost to ensure they are not demoralised. The interns should also be given an insurance cover of Rs one crore and steps should be taken to fast track their entry into the Punjab Civil Medical Service (PCMS) to ensure we have enough doctors to combat COVID-19 in the days ahead".
Appreciating Dr Kirat for bringing the issue before civil society, Mr Bikram Majithia said it was unfortunate that Punjab government colleges were charging more fee than their counterparts in neighbouring States as well as central institutes but giving less stipend to interns. He said vis a vis stipend of Rs 9,000 per month given by Punjab to their interns, Haryana was giving Rs 17,000 and Himachal Pradesh Rs 15,000 per month. He said central institutes were giving a monthly stipend of Rs 23,000 to their interns.
Mr Majithia urged the chief minister to intervene immediately and raise the stipend of all medical students interning in government medical hospitals after finishing their studies to Rs 23,000 per month on the pattern followed by central institutes. He said the interns should also be absorbed in PCMS in the same way countries abroad were fast tracking appointment of doctors and nurses to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. He said this was also the need of the hour considering the fact that there was a shortage of doctors in the State.