KOCHI: The hospital management associations in the state, which met here on Sunday, decided to implement the hike in basic pay fixed by the government for the healthcare sector. This is the first time the hospital managements have reached a consensus on implementing the hike.
The meeting, convened by Confederation of Private Hospital Associations saw participants unanimously agreeing to the wage hike, wherein the basic wage in the healthcare sector has been increased to `17,200 per month. The managements also vowed not to close down the hospitals and the healthcare services will be maintained even under the most trying circumstances.
Representatives of six management associations - Association of Healthcare Providers of India- Kerala chapter (AHPI-Kerala); Kerala Private Hospital Association(KPHA); Catholic Healthcare Association of India; Qualified Private Medical Practitioners’ Association; Kerala Voluntary Health Services; Christian Medical Association of India; Association of Advanced Specialty Healthcare Institutions and IMA Hospital Board attended the meeting.
They decided to form an action committee to deal with similar situations in future and settle them amicably. “We don’t want such issues to hamper the functioning of the state’s robust healthcare system. The committee will identify and resolve such issues before they escalate,” said Dr Harish Pillai, president of AHPI-Kerala. Dr P K Mohammed Rasheed, president of KPHA, said not all the hospital managements agreed to the hike in basic wages fixed by the government at its meeting with stakeholders in Thiruvanthapuram on July 10. “Earlier, all the management associations did not accept the government decision to hike the wages. Now, we are united on the issue,” said Dr Rasheed.
Pillai, who is also CEO of Aster MedCity, said the nurses association’s adamant stand on wage parity with their counterparts in the government sector was unreasonable since the Supreme Court never issued such an order. “It was an SC-appointed Committee’s recommendation. It is a state subject and after the 2010-11 wage hike implemented by the Kerala Government, the nurses’ salaries are better. We are duty bound to increase the salaries as fixed by this government,” he said.