Doctors in remote areas of Maharashtra can earn more

In some good news, doctors in Maharashtra can now negotiate their salaries with the government if they are posted in rural or tribal areas. The move is aimed at attracting more number of specialists from the field of gynaecology and paediatrics, among others.

Over 245 hospitals in far-off hamlets have been identified where doctors can negotiate for a higher salary. Doctors, who have been working in tribal and rural areas, have been complaining of low pay scale for years. Due to this, many doctors have been opting for job opportunities in private hospitals. To address the issue, new rules have been made where paediatricians, gynaecologists and anaesthetists working in selected rural, district, civil and corporation hospitals can ask for higher salaries.

"Our main intention behind it is to fill the gap. We have identified 245 hospitals in these areas, where we are ready to pay specialist doctors salaries on par with offers given by private hospitals," said Dr. Satish Pawar, Director, Directorate of Health Services (DHS).

But, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) feels that instead of focusing on the salary, the government needs to improve the infrastructure at hospitals in such areas. Dr. Parthiv San­ghvi, secretary of IMA's state chapter said, "The condition of these hospitals in rural and tribal areas are horrible. The decision to pay higher salary is good but half-baked."