4 months on, GMC docs yet to get salaries

GERARD DE SOUZA 

gerard@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: Post graduate students of Goa Medical College, who passed out in the last academic year and who had signed a bond to serve in rural and urban health establishments in various posts have not received any salary since they started working four months ago, even as a government official said, he does not see it as a problem. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity, these doctors informed Herald that in some cases even the contract is yet to be signed between them and the Health Department. 

“We have been working here for nearly four months now and the government hasn’t paid our stipend. Each time we approach them, they keep telling that it will happen within the next few weeks, but the wait goes on,” a doctor told Herald. 

“We do not want to stop working as the patients will suffer,” he added. 

Speaking to Herald, joint secretary health, Dattaram Sardessai said that the salaries will be given, but did not specify when. 

“How is it a problem? They will be paid their salaries. It’s not as if they won’t get (salaries),” Sardessai told Herald when questioned about the delay. 

Some of the doctors are posted at GMC and others at PHCs and DHS.

The government has made it mandatory for all postgraduate masters and PG diploma students passing out of GMC, to serve one year in any of the primary or community health centres in the State. 

Basically, all the doctors have passed their MD/MS this year and are called senior residents at GMC. Doctors posted outside are senior consultants if they have done MD/MS and junior consultants if they have finished diploma.

There are a total 89 students who passed out of GMC’s post graduate programmes last academic year. Most of them began this service during July and August. The service is part of a bond they sign with the Goa government at the time of Admission into GMC. 

“This year GMC has 89 Masters students in Medicine. We will make it mandatory for them to serve in primary and community health centres for a year. At the time of admission they sign an agreement that they have to work for the Goa government for a year, else they have to pay 

back Rs 10-lakh. However, this agreement was never implemented,” Health Minister Laximikant Parsekar had said. 

He said that four to five doctors would be posted at each primary or community health centre depending on the demand and the number of patients the health centre caters to.

The Goa Medical College Masters Programme caters to students from around the country and not just the State. The Directorate of Health Services runs five hospitals, five community health centres, four urban health centres and nineteen primary health centres.