Sion Hospital Doctors' Breakfast Allowance Restored After Two-Year Hiatus: BMC Meets Demands

In a significant development, resident doctors at Sion Hospital will once again receive a breakfast allowance of Rs. 1,250, reinstated after a two-year pause. This move is part of a broader set of assurances made by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials to resident doctors at all four of its medical colleges. This decision follows a threat from the doctors to commence a mass leave starting Monday if their demands were not met.

One of the primary demands from the resident doctors was an increase in their stipend by Rs. 10,000, bringing their total monthly remuneration to approximately Rs. 90,000. "The demand has been accepted, and the proposal has been sent and approved. The stipend should be credited in August, with pending arrears for the previous five months also being settled," stated a representative from the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors.

Dr Akshay More, head of the Association of Resident Doctors at Sion Hospital, indicated that the administration has committed to issuing a circular regarding the changes on Monday. "If we do not see any progress by August 10, we may have to consider resuming our agitation," Dr More warned.

Regarding the breakfast allowance specifically, Dr More noted that Sion Hospital residents had previously been excluded from receiving this benefit due to alleged administrative issues. "We have been promised reimbursement for the missed amount," he added.

In addition to the breakfast allowance, civic officials have pledged to provide temporary hostel accommodation to address the overcrowding in existing facilities. "We were informed that a school would be repurposed as temporary hostel space," Dr More said. Officials were not available for further comment at this time.

Throughout the month, the resident doctors have been displaying their protest by wearing black armbands during their duties. The approximately 2,500 resident doctors had planned to begin a mass leave on July 22 if their concerns were not addressed by the BMC.