Panel to probe irregularities in nurses appointment: Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian

CHENNAI: A committee will be formed to investigate the violations and discrepancies in the appointment of nurses since 2015 by the previous government, health minister Ma Subramanian said on Saturday after meeting the nurses who were on strike demanding reappointment at government hospitals.
"Several rules were violated during the appointment of nurses over the years. Our analysis showed that in 2015, 7,243 nurses were appointed without following rules. Again, there were violations in 2019, when 2,345 nurses were appointed. We have decided to submit a report to the chief minister," the minister said.
Detailed complaints regarding mismanagement of funds of 36 crore during the AIADMK regime for boarding and lodging of doctors in various hotels during Covid are also with the chief minister, he said.
Earlier, Subramanian and senior health officials held a meeting with the nurses who were sent home after their contracts ended in December 2022. These nurses have been on strike insisting on permanent jobs in state-run hospitals. The minister said the health department had promised to hire them back following rosters through the district health society on a temporary basis with a hike of 4,000 and at hospitals closer to their homes.
In the new jobs, nurses will receive a salary of 18,000 a month against the 14,000 they received when they were appointed on an ad hoc basis for six months in April 2020.
"We have offered to hire them back with a better salary. But nurses are insisting on appointments through the directorate of medical services. The funds for jobs offered through district societies come from the national health missions and contracts are valid only for one week. We have not only assured them job safety but have also told them they will be given priority when the state is recruiting nurses through the medical recruitment board," he said.
Representatives from the nursing associations said they were fighting to get permanent jobs for nurses who have worked hard in Covid wards and ICUs for more than two years.