Health department: CM approves stipends for unpaid postgraduate trainees

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved the summary to allow postgraduate (PGT) trainee doctors to be paid a monthly stipend of Rs70,000 approximately. The summary was sent to the chief minister by the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah.

A spokesman of the health department said more than 900 honorary PGTs would benefit from this decision. While, secretary health revealed that in future all PGT slots would be paid and no postgraduate trainee doctor would work on an honorary basis and an induction would be made only on sanctioned posts.

He further said PG doctors are the responsibility of the government and Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department is the custodian of doctors and would resolve their problems in future as well.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister’s Adviser on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique congratulated the PG doctors and said the approval of stipend for unpaid slots of the PGTs was another revolutionary step. He further said the last year 1,300 unpaid PGT slots were converted into paid slots on the orders of the chief minister.

Moreover, few months ago, the chief minister had announced a package of Rs3.5 billion for doctors. Parliamentary Health Secretary Khawaja Imran Nazir said the health sector development and the welfare of the people serving in the sector was top priority of the government for which many solid steps had been taken.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2016.