Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Aug 23: Healthcare workers at the premier hospital in the Valley, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura (SKIMS), who worked with COVID-19 patient care during the first and second waves of the pandemic, are yet to receive the incentives promised to “Covid warriors” last year.
Insiders in the hospital said that the Institute has been refusing incentives to medical workers despite receiving over Rs 146 lakhs in special financial incentives for COVID warriors from the government.
“Like the other institutes, the incentives were provided to the COVID warriors of SKIMS, but we are yet to receive them,” a doctor said, adding that they have discovered the former director has moved the funds to a relief fund.
He informed that the government had granted incentives to COVID-19 warriors under order 360-JK(HME) of 2021, dated April 5, 2021, including Rs 146.00 lakhs sanctioned for 643 COVID-19 warriors of SKIMS Soura, Srinagar. However, he added, the healthcare workers never received the incentives.
Last year, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, announced extra financial incentives for the COVID-19 Warriors of Health and Medical Education Department in the Union Territory. The decision was intended to benefit more than 17,000 Corona Warriors, including resident physicians, medical officers, paramedical/nursing staff, drivers and Class-IV employees.
The monthly incentive was Rs 10,000 for resident doctors, postgraduate medical students, and medical officers; Rs 7,000 for nurses and Rs 5,000 for drivers, sweepers and attendants.
The healthcare worker alleged that they had approached the administration on multiple occasions about incentives, but they never received a satisfactory response. “All of our colleagues who work in other hospitals have received incentives, but we are not receiving anything,” another doctor said, adding that a probe should be started to determine how the money intended for the COVID Warriors was misused.
While admitting that the incentives have not been provided, Dr. Farooq Jan, Medical Superintended of SKIMS said they had sent the details of COVID warriors to the government but the plan could not be materialized because the number of beneficiaries was really high. “All of our employees performed COVID duties on a rotational basis, which resulted in a large number of COVID warriors and the failure of the plan,” he said.
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