Date:23/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/23/stories/2007092355640900.htm

National

AIIMS faculty proposes higher salary

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

To prevent an exodus of physicians from the Institute

‘Risk and academic, conference, workshop, research grant allowances should increase’
Proposal for introduction of private consultation charges in patient care

NEW DELHI: The faculty at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences has proposed a higher pay scale, extra allowances and a fresh look at private consultation charges in patient care in order to prevent an exodus of physicians from the Institute.

Draft document

A draft document prepared by Dr. B.K. Mohanti and his team was discussed at a general body meeting of the faculty on May 10. Sent to the Government, it states: “The AIIMS faculty is engaged in multiple responsibilities and duties at the same time. The expert pool of AIIMS in health science specialties need to be properly nurtured and adequately rewarded in respect of status and financial aspects.”

The Institutes’ faculty association has proposed a high risk and academic allowance and increased allowances for conference, workshop, research grant, newspaper, transport and education fee for children. It has also demanded that all the allowances due to the faculty members, including academic research grant, be made tax-free.

Fee for expert services

Besides, it has demanded that a public-private consultancy fee be considered for the AIIMS faculty like the ones at the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. “The faculty staff should charge fees/honorarium for providing expert services since their responsibilities at AIIMS are already burdensome.

The cumulative receipts in a year may be distributed as consultancy allowance across the entire faculty. A mechanism may be devised where one-third goes to the individual or group of experts and one-third goes to the general faculty pool as allowance and one-third goes to AIIMS fund,” it states.

Public-private consultation

Complaining that promotional avenues for the AIIMS faculty are much more stringent and directly linked to performance and outputs, the Faculty Association has made a note about private consultation charges in patient care.

“This is a sensitive and contentious issue. The Institute can frame policies to allow charges on sharing basis between individual faculty or department. A mechanism may be devised in a professional way for limited hours of consultations in a week. This has been a successful practice implemented by various organisations including Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai.”

Need to re-look

The proposals, signed by AIIMS Faculty Association president B.K. Khaitan and general secretary K.K. Handa, make the point that there is a need to look into financial and other service conditions so that the talent pool of AIIMS faculty is not lost after gaining training and experience.