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KATHMANDU, April 25: Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, has warned that all commitments with private medical colleges will be halted if they fail to provide resident doctors with subsistence allowance as fixed by the Medical Education Commission (MEC).
He made his position clear on Thursday during a discussion at the Health Ministry with representatives from Nepal Medical Association (NMA) and resident doctors. “No point talking about the decision already made by the MEC,” Paudel said.
Minister Paudel stated, “Until private medical colleges implement the provision of providing the subsistence allowance, no work involving the ministry will move forward. There is no possibility of backtracking on this decision.”
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He emphasized that private medical colleges must provide a subsistence allowance of Rs 48,000/month to the residents before negotiations aimed at increasing the number of postgraduate seats begins.
NMA President Dr Anil Bikram Karki, coordinator of the Safe Workplace Struggle Committee for Health Workers Shesh Raj Ghimire and resident doctors were among those present during the discussion.
Resident doctors working in private medical colleges have been protesting for the past 22 days, demanding subsistence allowances equal to the amount provided by the government hospitals.
The doctors have warned that they will halt all services, except for the emergency care, from Friday should their demands go unmet.
The MEC, in its 16th meeting, had decided that resident doctors should be given the same subsistence allowance as those in government institutions.
