Kerala: Salary hike means end of road for small hospitals, says Alexander KG

Kozhikode: Such a high salary hike would hit at large the hospital industry across the state, said Dr Alexander K.G., chairman and managing director of Baby Memorial Hospital here.

On the eve of the ongoing agitation of nurses, Mr Alexander told DC that even the salary hike suggested by the government is sufficient to paralyse the small and medium hospitals.

"I fear the step would lead to the closure of majority small and medium hospitals of the state," he said, adding that he himself had forced to close down two satellite units earlier as the operational cost was much high.

“If you run a hospital in tune with the BMH standards it would be tough to survive.” With new tax regime and many regulations imposed by the Union government, he claims, the private healthcare sector is already in trouble.

Mr Alexander also lamented that many hospitals have already closed down as they cannot run the show paying a huge salary for expert doctors. "The hike is not only for nurses but across the spectrum, resulting in the increase of operational costs of hospitals and treatment costs of patients," he says.

“Among the 2000 staff of our hospital, nurses are only around 700. But I have to revise the salary of entire staff. Even a senior sweeper will be getting nearly Rs 20,000 and going by the claims of nurses, their salary would go much up if we relent to their demands. Now a young doctor receives a salary of around Rs 30,000 to 35,000 which also will have to be revised on a par with the hike across the ladder."