Telangana doctors to go on strike from Dec 19 over unpaid stipend

Hyderabad: Seeking collective resolution of their pending demands and issues, junior and senior resident doctors across Telangana have announced a boycott of outpatient (OP) and elective surgical duties starting Monday, December 19.

The move comes as the fraternity intensifies their ongoing protest against the delay in the disbursement of stipends.

The Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA), and the Telangana Senior Resident Doctors Association (T-SRDA) expressed their grievances through separate but aligned letters on Saturday to Dr K. Ramesh Reddy, the Director of Medical Education, Government of Telangana.

Both associations wrote about a series of unmet promises and neglected representations to the Director of Medical Education, the Health Secretary, and the Finance Secretary regarding the stipend payments pending since September 2023. “The delay in stipends is causing distress among junior doctors,” T-JUDA doctors wrote.

They said, junior residents and house surgeons are yet to receive their stipends for the second and third years, while the senior residents also highlighted similar issues.

The associations have called for the regularisation of stipend payments to be credited on or before a specific date each month and the appointment of a dedicated person in the Finance Department responsible for ensuring the expeditious clearance of medical bills.