SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Feb 2: Hundreds of health staff deployed at Sadar Hospital and Community Health Centres (CHC) under the District Mineral Fund Trust (DMFT) in the district have been facing a hand-to-mouth due to non-payment of honorarium for the last four months.
Rattled by contractual health staff’s problem, the Jharkhand Rajya Health Evam Jan Swasth Karmchari Sangh general secretary Sanjut Sahay today shot off a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Barun Ranjan, who is also chairman of DMFT, urging him to ensure immediate honorarium payment to these contractual employees.
On the directive of the High Court, the Dhanbad Sadar Hospital was revived after 35 years in 2017. Since the district health department was reeling under an acute staff shortage, the district administration appointed doctors and health staff for Sadar Hospital under DMFT. Some contractual health staff appointed under DMFT were also deployed to different health centres to cater to the requirement.
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Sanjut Sahay, in a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, has said that this is not the first time honorarium payment of these contractual health staff has been held for four months, albeit several times they had to face such a situation.
Sahay urged the DC to immediately pay four months’ due honorarium and ensure they get it promptly starting next month.
Dhanbad Sadar Hospital, which depends on contractual health staff and doctors, has registered institutional delivery more than Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH).
An authority of the district health department said that pending honorarium payment to staff can impact the smooth functioning of health services as staff would not be able to give 100 per cent service on an empty stomach.
The deputy commissioner and the deputy development commissioner (DDC), the nodal officer of DMFT, could not be available for comment.
