Mamata Banerjee Urges Health Secretary to ‘Be Serious’, Advocates for Senior Govt Doctors to Work 8 Hours Before Private Practice

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a significant meeting on Monday with over 2,000 junior and senior doctors from across the state at the Dhano Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata. This marked the largest gathering of medical professionals she has addressed since the RG Kar incident and the controversy surrounding the maternal death at Midnapore Medical College & Hospital.

The meeting saw attendance from various medical organizations, including those actively involved in the protests following the RG Kar incident. However, the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front (WBJDF), which played a leading role in the demonstrations, chose to boycott the event.

CM Banerjee began her speech by extending condolences to the family of the RG Kar victim, recalling her personal involvement in protests to demand justice. She also highlighted her government’s introduction of the anti-rape Aparajita Bill.

During the RG Kar protests, junior doctors had strongly demanded the removal of Narayan Swaroop Nigam, the principal secretary of the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department. Although their request was not granted, the chief minister on Monday urged the secretary to be more efficient, saying, “Narayan, please be serious.”

“I have assigned 8-10 IAS officers and doctors for you. There is always difference of opinion among you all. Please increase communication and work properly,” CM Banerjee added. She noted that the state has earned a bad reputation due to a few missteps by the health department.

Addressing concerns about senior doctors delegating patient care to junior doctors in government hospitals, CM Banerjee pointed out that the state government attributed the maternal death at MMCH to junior doctors being left in charge of a C-section, rather than the use of banned saline, as initially alleged.

She appealed to senior doctors to work for at least eight hours in government hospitals before engaging in private practice. “After that you can carry on with your private practice. I don’t have any problem with that,” she said.

In a significant move, the chief minister announced the revocation of suspensions for six junior doctors at MMCH, acknowledging that they were wrongly put in charge and were still in their learning phases.

Another key takeaway from the meeting was CM Banerjee’s announcement of a salary increase for all government trainee doctors and interns. This decision aims to restore her administration’s cordial relationship with the medical community, which had been significantly affected by the RG Kar protests.

The salaries of post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctors and interns were increased by ₹10,000, while senior resident doctors received a ₹15,000 hike. “The salary of diploma senior residential doctors will increase from ₹65,000 to ₹80,000. For post-graduate senior residential doctors, it will rise from ₹70,000 to ₹85,000,” CM Banerjee stated.