HYDERABAD:  With the Niloufer Hospital authorities proposing to start a new post-operative ward, the overburdened nurses staged a protest at the office of Superintendent Dr Murali Krishna on Wednesday.
The short-staffed hospital, according to sources, is currently facing a 60 per cent shortage of nurses and the agitating nurses claim that the latest proposal is aimed at facilitating the implementation of plans to increase the number of seats for postgraduate students.

A senior nurse, on the condition of anonymity, told Express, “There is already a post-operative ward in the gynecology department on the fourth floor, both for gynecology patients and cesarean delivery, along with an OT and a surgery ward. There is also a labour room and emergency OT, Maternal Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and another post-operative ward in the ground floor. Despite these, they want to start another ward, for which the hospital does not have enough number of nurses.”  

“This is an attempt to increase the number of seats for postgraduate students. However, at the moment the need is to recruit nurses for us to be able to provide quality care. Surgeons and doctors leave after their work is done. It’s the nurses who have to stay round the clock to take care of the patients post-op. Due to the shortage of nurses, we have to work night duties after every two months, instead of the usual four months. We have written to the Director of Medical Education to hire nurses on a contract basis, but we have received no response.” 

Restructuring process!
Superintendent Dr Murali Krishna, however, claims there is a “misunderstanding”.
“We are just trying to restructure the post-operative wards, which were first just restricted to the ground floor. There is most probably going to be no increase in patients. It is a complete misunderstanding between the nurses group and the administration.” Asked whether the recruitment of nurses will be taken up seriously as the Model Code of Conduct will be lifted, he said: “I cannot answer. The government does the hiring. I am not sure when the recruitment will start.”