NEW DELHI: After 33 years, the centre held a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review and update the Central Residency Scheme, 1992.
The meeting, chaired by the newly appointed Additional Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr Sunita Sharma, discussed issues such as hostel facilities, long working hours, and salaries of resident doctors - both junior and senior resident doctors - who form the backbone of government hospitals.
“We held the first meeting today and discussed various issues. We will meet again,” Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), told this paper.
He said no final decision was made on the issues that were taken up and that the ministry would give its final approval.
However, various resident doctor associations claimed that their top demand of a fixed 48-hour per week working hours for resident doctors had been accepted.
In the meeting, attended by directors of all major Delhi-based government hospitals, members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), and various representatives of all major resident doctors’ associations, including FAIMA, FORDA, UDF, and IMA-JDN, various issues like hostel facilities, thesis grants, assistant professor salaries, and health benefits for postgraduate and senior resident doctors were discussed.
Welcoming the move to hold the first meeting in three decades, Dr Rohan Krishnan, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) 's chief patron, said all their points were taken up.
“One of the crucial issues was the long working hours of senior and junior resident doctors. We had proposed that it should not exceed 48 hours a week with at least one off every week on a rotation basis. The ministry accepted this,” he said.
“The central residency scheme has not been revised since 1992. We feel resident doctors will be more comfortable in the safe working environment, leading to better patient care. If the basic needs of the resident doctors are met, then I think there would be better care for the patients,” he told this paper.
He said FAIMA had made the demand with the central government to review the Central Residency Scheme during the RG Kar incident in which a postgraduate doctor was brutally raped and murdered in a government hospital in Kolkata last year.
Dr Lakshya Mittal, National President of United Doctors' Front (UDF) on X, said it was a big win for resident doctors. "After today’s DGHS meeting, it is confirmed 48 hours/week fixed duty hours will replace the vague term “reasonable.” He also said the allowance revision was approved.
Dr Dhruv Chauhan, National Spokesperson, Indian Medical Association (IMA)-Junior Doctors Network (IMA-JDN), said, “It was a fruitful meeting, and they have taken note of all the concerns we raised, including ensuring 48 hours/week fixed duty hours for all resident doctors."
"Allowances revision for doctors and fixed amount for thesis and books also approved in the meeting and taken further for implementation,” he told this paper.