Jharkhand: Section of nurses on strike returns to work at city hospital

RANCHI: A day after 50 community health officers (CHO), deputed from different blocks of Ranchi district to nurse Covid-19 patients at the Ranchi sadar hospital, allegedly went on strike to demand outstanding incentives, a section of them rejoined duty on Sunday after deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan assured to release their payment soo.
The CHOs, who have been deployed over and above the staff nurses of the hospital, allegedly went off duty without informing the hospital management, acting civil surgeon Dr Vinod Kumar said. “We landed in a soup and had to pull out our health workers from different services to manage the Covid-19 wards since last night,” Kumar claimed.
At present, the sadar hospital has 240 general beds and 60 ICU beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients. The hospital management is aiming to add another 100 beds by the end of this week.
“The existing nursing staff was insufficient to cater to so many patients. Hence, the CHOs were brought in and allotted duties in the three floors of the Covid-19 wing as per a roster. But last night (Saturday), only two of them turned up for duty at the third floor ICU while four were on duty,” a doctor in the hospital said.
The CHOs are provided a monthly incentive of Rs 15,000 over and above their monthly salaries as a special allowance for rendering services during the pandemic. But they claimed that their incentives of last three months are due.
Speaking to a section of the agitating nurses, Ranjan urged them to rejoin their duties, following which a few returned to work. “Even then, the situation has not improved as many will rejoin only on Monday,” Kumar told TOI.
Meanwhile, the management of Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) on Sunday began training 100 constables of the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) in handling oxygen cylinders. The IRD jawans will be deployed outside Rims trauma centre, which has been converted into a Covid-19 facility, for administering oxygen to incoming patients. The IRB will handle the patients in need of oxygen support till the time they are admitted to the Covid 19-ward.
“Since there is a shortage of manpower to cater to patients in need of immediate oxygen support upon arrival, the jawans have being roped in. It will help save lives and provide relief to the patients,” Rims additional director P K Waghmare said.