In a recent development, corporate hospitals are ready to pay up to 200% more salaries to doctors and nurses to attend COVID patients.
Earlier, doctors who completed their post graduation (PG) were paid a maximum of ₹5,000 per 12-hours night shift. “Now, we are offering up to ₹12,000 for the same number of hours in COVID wards. Some private hospitals managements are ready to pay around ₹15,000 per night shift. The pay increases if one chooses to work in day shifts. Newly-absorbed senior resident doctors at government hospitals are offered ₹77,000 per month, including 10% incentives,” said a doctor who recently completed his PG.
The doctors at corporate hospitals are offered to work on full-time basis too. Only PGs with specialisation in General Medicine, Anaesthesia, Pulmonology and Paediatrics are offered high salaries. Faculty at government hospitals were boggled to know the pay structure.
Nurses were paid a maximum of ₹20,000-₹25,000 per month by the managements. Now, the private establishments are ready to shell out up to ₹60,000-₹70,000 per month for COVID duties. A few hospitals are ready to pay ₹3,000 for a 12-hours night shift. However, finding skilled work force has become a challenge.
President of Telangana Nursing Samithi Govardhan Kurumeti said that while corporate hospitals are ready to shell out high salaries, a few small hospital managements are trying to cut down salaries by half as the number of patient admissions has dropped. Nurses receiving cut salaries are joining COVID duties to earn more.
