Tamil Nadu government doctors seek WHO intervention on staffing and pay disparities

LCC urges WHO to intervene in Tamil Nadu's doctor crisis, highlighting achievements and disparities in public health sector.

The Legal Coordination Committee for Government Doctors (LCC), an organisation based in Tamil Nadu, has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to intervene and impress upon the government of Tamil Nadu to immediately address longstanding grievances concerning staffing shortages and salary disparities among government doctors in the State.

In a representation addressed to Roderico H. Ofrin, the WHO representative in India, Perumal Pillai, president of the LCC, drew attention to Tamil Nadu’s commendable achievements in the public health sector, many of which aligned with WHO-recommended frameworks and goals. Tamil Nadu, with a population of over 80 million, has been at the forefront of reducing maternal and infant mortality rates. The maternal mortality rate (MMR) currently stands at 39 per one lakh live births, a target set by the WHO for 2030— achieved by the State a full decade in advance.

The representation said Tamil Nadu has also taken notable strides in strengthening rural health services and managing non-communicable diseases.

However, these advancements, it contended, have come at a high cost to the doctors who made them possible. The organisation expressed concern over the lack of proportional recruitment in government hospitals - with existing medical personnel being overburdened. “Not only doctors, but the public are also affected by this crisis,” the letter said.

Government doctors in Tamil Nadu, according to the LCC, are paid among the lowest salaries in the country. It cited a disparity of ₹40,000 between salaries of MBBS doctors in Tamil Nadu and those in other States.

Despite recommendations by the National Medical Commission that State government doctors be paid on a par with those at central institutions such as AIIMS, and a directive from the High Court upholding Government Order 354— which mandates salary revisions— the State government failed to act, the organisation alleged.

It claimed government doctors in Tamil Nadu face the highest mortality at a young age among states in India. While the average life expectancy of the general public in Tamil Nadu is 69–72 years, that of government doctors ranges between 55–59, the letter claimed.