The AIIMS RDA had on April 4 said the notice for donation without consulting them violates an individual's right to support the country in the way they prefer. (File photo)

Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which represents 2,500 doctors, has requested the hospital administration to reconsider its decision of mandatory deduction of one day's salary from staff to donate to the PM-CARES fund.

"Either make the donation opt-in or reject it altogether. Instead, the local donation from AIIMS should be directed towards procuring health gear and PPEs," the doctors said. General Secretary of AIIMS RDA, Srinivas Rajkumar T, told India Today TV that majority of the doctors have donated on personal level and want to exercise choice of further donation.

"We are working on the frontline to save our country. Majority of us have donated on a personal level and want to exercise the choice of further donation. We will continue to work till our last breath, but, a major pandemic or even a national emergency can't be the reason to curb the rights of people, more particularly health care staff," he said.

"CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] funds are also going to the PM-CARES Fund. The entire country is donating to that host of charity. It would be better if our local donation is directly used for procuring more and better PPEs and protective gear for healthcare staff across the country, rather than routing it through the PM-CARES Fund," Srinivas added.

Doctors continued with their resentment after AIIMS administration, in a letter on Tuesday, rejected their request and said, "Anyone who did not want to contribute to the fund's noble cause, would have to formally opt-out".

The letter also stated that there is no provision to collect donations from residents for internal use for the provision of PPEs and other facilities to equip healthcare workers.

RDA letter to the administration

In the letter, the Resident Doctors Association said: "RDA AIIMS, appreciates the initiatives by the prime minister and the health and home ministry, state governments, health officials, manufacturers, good samaritans who have contributed to the battle against Covid-19 pandemic. RDA AIIMS also appreciates the initiative by the government in setting up the PM-CARES fund and acknowledging the financial burden the pandemic of this scale can pose on the underfunded Indian public health care system. At the same time, RDA AIIMS also believes the rights of the individual should be the primary object of all governments".

"RDA AIIMS reiterates that as the majority of residents have donated on a personal level and want to exercise choice of further donation, We again request the administration to reconsider the decision and make the donation opt-in or reject it altogether," the letter further read.

The letter also stated that RDA AIIMS has made its stand very clear even in the past during the emergency in the country and will continue to stand for the "values it represents".

"We have full faith that AIIMS administration will reconsider the decision and restore faith in residents," the letter read.

Meanwhile, around 30 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and technicians at the Cardio-Neuro Centre in AIIMS Delhi have been advised to undergo quarantine after a 72-year-old man, who visited the facility with a neurological problem, tested positive for Covid-19.