Recruitment of contract staff nurses through DHS comes under fire

The Hindu

07-07-2025

Facing huge vacancies across various posts, the Health department is now planning to fill up vacant posts of contract staff nurses through the District Health Society (DHS) on an 11-month contractual appointment basis. However, the Tamil Nadu Nurses Empowerment Association has called this a deviation from existing norms, as contractual posts of nurses were so far filled with nurses recruited through the Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB).
An official communication referred to the meetings conducted by the Health Secretary with the respective heads of departments to review vacancies in various posts across the health directorates. The huge vacancy position in the post of staff nurse in each directorate was reviewed and concerns were expressed over addressing the issue without delay.
Considering the huge number of vacancies in the posts of contract staff nurses, an instruction to explore filling up the posts on a contract basis through the DHS was issued. Temporary/scheme/contract posts of staff nurse, pharmacist, and lab technician grade III on a contract basis should be filled up through the DHS, as is being done for other categories of temporary/scheme/contract posts.
District Health Officers (DHO) should take an estimate of all vacancies in the contract post of staff nurse, pharmacist and lab technician grade III sanctioned for National Health Mission (NHM), Tamil Nadu and take immediate steps to fill in a time-bound manner. They were told to strictly follow the contract norms while issuing appointment orders to the selected candidates on a contractual basis - contract appointment is for 11 months only and a declaration that the contractual appointment is purely temporary should be obtained.
N. Subin, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Nurses Empowerment Association, said that until now, nurses recruited through the MRB were posted to the NHM's contract posts. 'Nurses, who qualify through MRB, are posted on a contractual basis. As per norms, those not below two years of service are brought to timescale pay as and when vacancies in regular posts arise. Instead of the usual procedure, the Health Department is now going to make contractual appointments for 11 months. There will be no permanency in posts if this materialises,' he said.
In a statement issued, the association said there were nearly 4,000 vacant posts of contract nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians across all three directorates. The order issued by NHM, Tamil Nadu to fill these vacancies on an 11-month contractual basis through the DHS would affect the State's health sector.
The association said that it is shocking that the department, despite a court order to reinstate nearly 700 nurses who were recruited through MRB for COVID-19, has gone ahead to fill the vacant posts through DHS instead of posting them. They demanded the State government to drop the move and recruit nurses and other staff through the MRB.