Decisions of the Emergency QPMPA meeting
Sunday, 18 December 2011 17:10
Decisions of the Emergency QPMPA meeting
Dear Members,
The Emergency Meeting of the QPMPA held at Kochi on Thursday, 15 December 2011 decided the following. Kindly implement them -
1. Minimum Wages - Members may pay the wages as per the 2009 Minimum Wages Notification dated 16 December 2009. A copy of the 2009 Minimum wages notification is attached. MW 2009 Notification or visit http://lc.kerala.gov.in/
And also - A Circular letter from the Labour Department to Labour Officers.
We filed a case against this and obtained a stay. The case status as available in the Kerala High Court web site is copied -
Officers from the Labour Department have the right to inspect your records and go. As the STAY is in force, they have no powers to initiate other actions. If they (Officials) act smart kindly, report that to the High Court or the QPMPA.
When the final judgment of the case comes, we will make necessary changes. The Government may kindly note that we do not have funds to pay the salary with retrospective effect. Hospitals may not be equated with the Beverages Corporation of the Govt. of Kerala.
However, these routine inspections are given wide publicity and media cover is arranged well in advance by the Officials involved to tarnish the image of the medical profession. This may be how Kerala democracy functions! Media support is a must when powers vested in the Govt. is exercised illegally.
The Drugs Controller too was functioning in this style to impose Drug License on private hospitals, as they do not have the minimum knowledge level to understand that written in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945. A memorandum to this effect submitted by the QPMPA is in the cold store of the Health Minister for the last four months.
2. NOC & Minimum experience: Kindly appoint only those having a minimum experience of One year and they must produce an NOC from the previous Employer. However, before finalising the appointment you must contact the previous employer and get a private/personal report of the applicant. All hospitals must cooperate in this exercise. The NOC given may be in a sweet language. If truth is passed on, the new employer will not suffer as you had. Prevention is better than cure. Kindly cooperate.
(Kindly do not show any sympathy to anyone. That is not appreciated by the leaders. M/s Muthoot is shelling out lakhs for charity to their staff every month and now taxed for that. Muthoot Hospital closed for the fourth day, at the time of posting this report.)
4. Uniform Minimum fees/charges: All hospitals are requested to enhance the fees/charges and must maintain minimum charges/fees. The hospitals in Kochi are following a rate slab and that must be implemented all over Kerala. The same will be published in our Journal. The upper limit may be fixed by each hospital as per the classification they are included in the notification. It can go up to 40% or more of the minimum fees/charges as directed in the Minimum Wages Order attached.
However, we fail to understand the logic involved in the Explanation No. 2 - Excess Allowance (last para in page 9 of the notification). Depending on the classification of hospitals, there is increase of 10, 15, 20 & 30% in the minimum wages.
What is the difference in the job of a driver in Type 1 and Type 4 Hospital to attract 30% less/more wages? If that is acceptable to the masters, then the drivers of our Ministers are eligible for more than double the normal salary for violating all traffic rules including speed.
5. Miscellaneous: (some are under consideration) -
a) For better and faster communications, we have started a QPMPA Kerala Group in Face book and you are requested to join that. Emails are restricted and at a time, we find it difficult to contact more than 100 members. The Email ID of the QPMPA Kerala Group is - qpmpakerala@groups.
The website is https://www.facebook.com/
b) The next challenge we are facing from the authorities is their reluctance to give us exemption from the Shops & Commercial Establishments Act. The original drafters of this Act had not included hospitals in that and were exempted from all the provisions of the Act. However, the much smarter lawmakers of Kerala now, to please voters decided otherwise and included us under the said Act.
It is time for us to behave like Shops and Commercial establishments. The minimum demands are that it must be closed for a day once in a week. Should not work on bundh/hartal/etc., days. Must be closed for tea and lunch breaks. There being no emergency issues in a shop we must think of closing down our 24-hour Casualty services also. Our staff will appreciate this change in our attitude and we save a lot in cash.
c) Learnt that many hospitals cooperating with the RSBY Insurance scheme of the Govt. are cheated by the Insurance Company involved and has not received the payments from the Insurance firm for the last one year. The charges fixed by the Insurance firm for various procedures are also very low. Considering all that most of the Private Hospitals that cooperated with RSBY has decided to withdraw from RSBY. However, the Labour Department vested with powers to empanel hospitals is unhappy and they are harassing the Private Hospital managements with threats from various levels.
Finally, unity is more important, and we miserably lack that. Kindly have a second thought on that.
Regards,
Dr. K. Kishore Kumar (State Secretary)
Comments
It is astonishing to see all doctors being considered as frauds and criminals by the Labour Department. (See the Circular letter cited.)This must be challenged in the High Court with valid records.
I am wondering how you people run hospitals nowadays after “licking legs of many”.
I am sure that it is going to be a critical time for hospitals in their survival. During 70’s there was a forward graph in your growth, but now it is a downward one for hospitals. During the last 10 years, many medium and small-scale hospitals have been closed mainly due to the staff problems, attitude of the government and public towards the doctors and hospitals.
It is the time for the hospital owners whether a doctor or anyone to co-operate and fight for their existence.
Doctors are also human beings. To obey the medical code of ethics the doctors should be alive. Therefore, life is more important than the ethics. So sustain the life first. Hence eight hours of duty constrains are valid for the doctors too.
Many of the students from poor family who got admission for MBBS availed loans from the banks for their studies, which will be many folds that availed by a nursing students. Hence, doctors also should get the benefit.
Let me ask a question – “Who is responsible for the increase in cost of studies?”
The government has allowed the private professional institutions.
The government is fixing the fees.
The government is arranging the loan facilities.
Now they say the private hospitals have to provide enough money for the repayment of obligations by the staffs.
Nowadays a student with just pass marks get admission to nursing colleges (still seats are vacant).
So when the facilities are provided the greed will force the people to achieve unaffordable status. In addition, the situation is that the private hospitals have to bear the burden of their greed.
Good that you have taken a decision to provide minimum wages as per the present situation. However, it is your duty to convince the public for any increase in your charges. Otherwise public will be under the impression that the increase in charges is only to enlarge your pocket. Hence, I have few suggestions in this regard.
1. Put a notice board in front of your cash counter informing the public that the present hike in charges is to provide increased salary for Nurses hence to co operate with you.
2. Give a propaganda through the news paper or any other media about the consequences that the public should have faced by the present developments and about the problems faced by the owners in running a hospital.(public is unaware of it)
3. Everyone has some documents for their arguments and to fight (at least a salary slip). Moreover, during the last 10 years many medium and small-scale hospitals have been closed mainly due to the staff problems and attitude of the government, and public towards the doctors and hospitals. Therefore, you should have a valid document convincing your hardships faced by the hospital owners and doctors nowadays and to find the reason for the recent degradation of public health in Kerala. Hence, you have to approach the High Court to get an order directing the State government to constitute a commission to conduct a study on it. The report will be a valid document for future fight for the survival. Otherwise, a total solution for the problems in the health sector will not be possible.
4. Prepare and send a minimum charge chart for various procedures and fees at different levels to all hospitals and clinics including doctors practicing at home.
Anilkumar
Engineer
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