Doctors to be hired for COVID-19 treatment in Mumbai: Deshmukh

Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh on Sunday said that doctors and nurses will be hired on honorarium basis for COVID-19 treatment in Mumbai. The decision has been taken to ensure that there is no shortage of medical staff for treatment of COVID-19 patients in the city, he said in a statement.

Mumbai has so far recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases among all the cities in the country. Its tally of patients till Saturday night was 38,442, while the number of deaths was 1,227. Registered doctors below 45 years of age, who do not suffer from any medical ailments and have completed their internship, will be hired as per the needs for treatment of patients.

"They will be paid Rs 80,000 per month. Apart from doctors, physicians will also be hired on honorarium basis. Anaesthetists and intensivists will be paid Rs two lakh per month. Qualified nurses will be hired for Rs 30,000 per month.

"The honorarium will be paid by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Eligible doctors and nurses should apply for it online," he said. Meanwhile, Deshmukh has also directed Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Dilip Mhaiskar, that students who have passed their MBBS examinations in February 2019 and completed their one year internship be provided temporary graduation certificates.

He said that with the certificate, they can register themselves with the Maharashtra Medical Council. If this happens, nearly 4,000 doctors can provide medical service in the present COVID-19 situation, he said.

About 4,000 students have cleared the MBBS exam of November 2018 and the results were declared in February 2019. They have completed the internship in February 2020.

However, the convocation ceremony is yet to be held in view of the pandemic..

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