The Latest Increase in Salaries of Healthcare Workers

The newspaper "Pahst" writes: "Pahst continues to analyze the salaries of employees in various sectors, particularly focusing on high-risk fields where salaries are, to put it mildly, inadequate. This time, we are examining the salaries of employees in medical institutions.

We sent a written inquiry to the Ministry of Health, asking for information on the minimum and average salaries of doctors, nurses, and cleaning staff in polyclinics and hospitals as of July 1, 2019. The Ministry informed us that the general principles and indicative amounts for the formation of minimum wages for medical personnel are established in accordance with both the Health Minister's order No. 2108-A dated August 16, 2018, and order No. 259-A dated February 4, 2019.

According to the government’s 2019 budgetary message, the average monthly salary for a doctor is 240,000 drams, for a nurse it is 120,000 drams, and for junior medical staff, it is 100,000 drams," stated the Ministry.

We also inquired when their salaries were last increased and by how much. "The salaries of workers providing outpatient medical assistance and services were increased in February 2019, in accordance with the Health Minister's order No. 259-A dated February 4, 2019. The basis for the increase in the remuneration of medical staff within the framework of hospital medical assistance and services is established by the increase in the prices and standards of medical services set forth by the Health Minister's order No. 1842-A dated July 4, 2019. This will directly affect the increase in salaries, as the salary is calculated based on a percentage of the price of the medical service," the Ministry responded to our inquiry.

For more details, refer to today's newspaper issue.