Resident Doctors at Lumbini Medical College Demand Equal Pay and Reforms

Resident doctors at Lumbini Medical College (LMC) in Palpa have submitted a three-point memorandum to the Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, demanding pay parity with government-employed medical officers.

The memorandum calls for the provision of salaries for MD, MS, and MDS resident doctors at private medical colleges equivalent to those received by eighth-level government medical officers. In addition, the doctors urged the government to address discrepancies in the matching process for postgraduate medical programs.

Among their key demands is the formation of a drafting committee to develop a comprehensive Master’s Programme Operation Procedure. The proposed framework would include regulations concerning working hours, leave entitlements, remuneration, examination transparency, impartiality, and the establishment of an independent regulatory body.

Dr. Deepak Kandel, representing the resident doctors, stated that they have decided to halt their services until their demands are addressed. As a result, hospital services at LMC have been significantly affected, according to the hospital administration.

In response, Minister Paudel said that many of the doctors’ concerns have already been addressed, and assured that remaining issues would be resolved promptly. He also confirmed that directives had been issued to private medical colleges to implement the government’s decisions.