Government Positive About Addressing Demands of Resident Doctors

Kathmandu – The government has shown a positive stance toward addressing the demands of resident doctors who have been protesting for service benefits equivalent to government employees.

The government is now inclined to provide a salary of NPR 48,700, equivalent to an eighth-level government employee, to resident doctors.

A meeting was held late Wednesday night at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar, where Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Minister of Education Vidya Bhattarai, Minister of Health Pradeep Poudel, representatives of private medical institutions, and representatives of resident doctors discussed the matter. According to one participant, Prime Minister Oli expressed a positive outlook toward the doctors’ demands, but a written agreement will be made only after further discussions with the Medical Education Commission.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology had jointly decided to provide a living allowance of NPR 25,000 in the first year, NPR 30,000 in the second year, and NPR 35,000 in the third year. However, after the doctors announced their protest, the government reconsidered its decision.

Despite the positive discussions, the protest programs will continue until a formal agreement is reached, according to Dr. Sheshraj Ghimire, coordinator of the Safe Workplace Struggle Committee for Healthcare Workers. “The discussion was held last night, and it was positive. However, no agreement has been reached yet, so our protest program remains unchanged,” he said.

Resident doctors have also warned of halting academic activities today as part of their ongoing protest.