Medics working on the frontline in Russian hospitals have been left severely disappointed after receiving just £8 of the £900 bonus they were promised for treating coronavirus patients.

In mid-April President Vladamir Putin made a public TV announcement regarding a monthly bonus but doctors found no such funding when they opened their April pay cheques.

A number received up to £8 while others saw no bonus at all, and some even saw their pay reduced after they were forced to self-isolate having contracted the illness or come into contact with infected patients.

Maria, 24, who spoke under anonymity, is a doctor working outside Moscow.

She was forced to self-isolate for two weeks after visiting a patient who tested positive for the deadly virus and upon her return found that her April salary had been slashed from £400 to £150 to account for her ‘time off’.

“I hoped that if I came in contact with the infection, I would also get some extra money,” said the young doctor, who revealed that she is only permitted one pair of gloves and one surgical mask per shift.

“I could have contracted the virus, but instead of a bonus, my salary is less than usual,” she added.

"Patients are telling us that we must be getting a lot of money for working so much.

“But nobody complains because it makes no difference.

“I want justice to prevail, but I'm not going to start a war,” she added.