Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), one of the oldest medical institutions in Delhi, is reportedly dealing with an issue where interns have not received their stipends for nearly three months now.
According to an intern, who began their internship in 2024, this concern extends to their batch of 250 interns, all of whom have been affected by the alleged delay in payment.
Three months and no payment
EdexLive, in a conversation with a doctor intern (unnamed due to privacy concerns), was informed that the interns have allegedly not received any stipend since December 2023, and there have been no signs of immediate payment either.
The intern further shared their frustration with the ongoing challenges faced by the other interns due to this undesirable situation at LHMC.
"It has been almost three months now, we haven't been paid any amount. This is gradually taking a toll on us," she said.
When questioned about whether this was a recurring issue, the intern confirmed that this problem had occurred previously as well, after three months of joining the internship at LHMC in April 2024. The protesting interns had submitted a strike notice on July 23, 2024, and the their stipends were released within an hour of submitting the strike notice.
The intern further informed that a cohort of the interns had approached the academic department at LHMC, where the authorities responded by saying that they would mark the interns absent and suspend emergency duties, which the intern claimed, was a way to intimidate them into not protesting againist the situation and ultimately, complying with the decision.
Another intern who spoke to EdexLive under the condition of anonymity reiterated a similar stance.
"We don't usually get paid after the month concludes. To disburse the payments, they usually take 15-20 days, but this time it has been three months, and yet there has been no response from them," she highlighted.
The blame game begins
Shedding more light on the situation, the intern said that she had received her first salary after she completed three months as an intern, and they had been informed that such a "trend" within the department had been a long-standing issue.
"We were informed by seniors that usually, the account's department might need time to verify accounts and process our payments, but it has not been the case with other senior doctors as they are receiving their salaries on time. A 20-day delay is manageable, whereas a 90-day delay is not," exclaimed the intern.
In an attempt to find clarity on the situation, the interns approached higher authorities, including the Director of the college, Dr Sarita Beri. The director claimed that the government had not issued the required budget for the interns, which was the reason behind the delayed stipend payments.
One of the interns said, "We approached the director to find out the reason, and she informed us that the budget for the stipend payment was not issued to the college. When we approached other officials, they said that the director hadn't sanctioned the budget for interns. It is a relentless circle of blame game."
The intern also pointed out the stark contrast in stipend disbursement processes between Lady Hardinge Medical College and other prominent medical institutions such as Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML), and University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS). While these institutions release stipends every month, Lady Hardinge interns have been subjected to prolonged delays, adding to their mounting frustration.
Increased financial strain
The financial strain caused by the non-payment of stipends is particularly challenging for interns who have no external financial support. These interns told EdexLive that they rely on the stipend to cover basic expenses, and the delay has put them in a precarious position.
In addition, the interns deemed this particularly unfair due to the nature of their service and workload.
"There are no fixed working hours, with shifts extending from 24 to 36 hours. Sundays and gazetted holidays are not observed as off days. Additionally, interns are expected to handle emergency duties even without adequate supervision from senior doctors, particularly at district hospitals where junior residents (JRs) and senior residents (SRs) are absent. The whole hospital is left to be tended by interns," one of the interns informed EdexLive.
She further added that this compromises the well-being of the interns and patients.
Gender-bias?
The intern also highlighted concerns about the alleged exploitation of female interns. There is a perception that female interns are not taken seriously when they protest or voice concerns, due to the lack of majority support and the fear of potential repercussions.
This reluctance among some female interns to stand up against authority, added to the authority's nonchalant attitude towards women and undermining of their grievances, aggravates the issue.
Seated fear of not receiving payments
With only two months remaining for their internship to conclude, interns are worried that once they complete their term, they will no longer be able to bring up the issue of unpaid stipends. Furthermore, these interns are preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for their postgraduate (PG) studies alongside their internship.
One of the interns said, "We are not getting paid, we work gruelling duty hours, we are studying, and now the authority expects us to write emails and applications. Why should an intern be facing such situations?" she questioned.
The persistent delay in stipend payments, combined with the alleged inadequate support for interns, highlights the concerning situation at Lady Hardinge Medical College.
EdexLive attempted to contact both the LHMC Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) and the student union body on Saturday, February 15 and is awaiting an official statement. College authorities were unavailable due to it being a half-day.
