Pvt hospitals ask staff to take salary cuts in coming months

While many of them have already implemented a cut in the wages, other managements are likely to impose pay cuts from next month. Small hospitals and nursing homes have been forced to close down their operations partially or completely to make up for the losses.

A city-based hospital in Anna Nagar had announced pay cuts for the employees including doctors, nurses and other management staff whose monthly salary is above Rs 25,000. “The higher the pay, the greater is the pay cut. The outpatient department is highly affected and most of the surgeries are either postponed or done only on an emergency basis. Thus, the hospital announced salary cuts,” said an employee of the hospital.

Another hospital specialising in liver care and transplants in Chrompet announced a percentage of the salaries of the management staff and even doctors to be cut. “It is usually the highest paid ones whose salaries have been cut. We have not been given pay slips this month. The salaries of the lower grade employees have not been cut,” said a management staff from the hospital.

Experts in the private health care sector said that the lockdown had an adverse impact, resulting in 70 to 80 per cent drop in footfall, test volumes and 50 to 70 per cent drop in revenue in the past two months.

Dr Sangeeta Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals said that there is an urgent need to consider the sharp drop in out-patient footfalls, diagnostic testing, elective surgeries and absence of international patients across the sector and increased investments due to COVID-19