Junior doctors at Osmania General Hospital (OGH), Gandhi Hospital and other tertiary teaching hospitals in the State started boycotting their elective duties protesting mandatory one-year government service in Telangana districts. While emergency services functioned normally, elective surgeries and to some extent inpatient and outpatient services were hit in tertiary hospitals in Hyderabad.
Junior doctors are demanding that before asking them to work in districts for a year, the State Government should first fill-up all vacant posts in area hospitals, primary and community health centres in Telangana districts. Rural service should not be made mandatory but should be only voluntary and medicos who take up Government-service should be compensated on a par with Government doctors, they demanded. “A Civil Assistant Surgeon in districts is paid close to Rs. 46,000 per month but junior doctors are paid only Rs. 30,000. The medicos should be given equal salaries,” the protesting junior doctors demanded. The protesting medicos pointed out that the Government should give additional weightage marks and points to those who attend rural service and also give preference to them while recruiting for Government posts.
