Residents, however, will still remain a part of emergency services, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) section of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), the state's umbrella organisation for resident physicians.
After resident doctors at the civic hospitals in Mumbai threatened to skip work from January 2, their peers in the state's government-run medical colleges announced that they would be absent from work starting on January 2.
The outpatient department (OPD) services at BMC hospitals could be severely hampered by the strike by resident doctors, who gain practical experience while completing medical education. The BMC hospitals are home to thousands of resident physicians.
In a letter to the authorities, the BMC MARD sought the implementation of a Government Resolution on dearness allowance at BMC hospitals along with clearance of arrears of dearness allowance from July 1, 2018.
"The payment of eight months of COVID arrears of resident doctors of Nair Hospital (NAIR MARD) and two months arrears of resident doctors of KEM and Cooper hospitals are pending. The BMC should provide adequate hostel facilities for the resident doctors of all BMC and GMC hospitals," the letter said.
The resident doctors are fighting to equalise their salaries throughout the state and to recruit 1,432 senior residents. In order to address the lack of teaching staff, they have also requested that the government fill open associate and assistant professor positions.
To eliminate any disparities in salary, the association has also asked for equitable remuneration for all senior resident doctors in Maharashtra. The BMC MARD claimed it had repeatedly brought up its demands to the civic organisation and the state government, but they went unanswered.
"We have requested the authorities to kindly look into the matter and take necessary actions for the same on an immediate and urgent basis. If these long pending, genuine demands are not addressed, BMC MARD will have to take harsh decisions of withdrawal of nonemergency and OPD services from the morning of January 2," the association said.
(With agency inputs)
