Latest news with #SajithCherandathur
The Hindu
31-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Nursing graduates, Kerala Government Nurses Union object to draft rules for nurses' appointment in State
A group of nursing graduates and government nurses have objected to the recently issued Draft Special Rules governing the Kerala Public Health Nursing State Service and the Kerala Public Health Nursing Subordinate Service. As per an earlier government order, only those with a BSc degree in Nursing were qualified for posts such as Maternal and Child Health Officer and District Public Health Nurse. Nursing graduates, who did not wish to be quoted, claim that the government is now trying to supersede the above rules and make Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs)—who do not have any degrees—eligible for these senior-level posts. They say that these posts demand advanced knowledge in epidemiology, health programme planning, community health, and policy execution—areas where degree-level training is essential. There is a possibility of the quality of public health services getting compromised if properly qualified people are not appointed to these posts, the nursing graduates point out. 'May devaluate BSc course' They also say that the new Draft Rules could devaluate BSc (Nursing) course. The new rules could effectively place nursing students who invest years in acquiring comprehensive training, both theoretical and clinical, on a par with those who clear certificate courses. Degree-qualified professionals may see no career progression or exclusive opportunities. The nursing graduates also claim that the draft rules violate High Court directives on the issue. They urged the government to reconsider the decision and maintain BSc (Nursing) as the minimum qualification for posts such as Maternal and Child Health Officer and District Public Health Nurse. Separate promotional pathways could be created for ANM-qualified nurses without compromising the professional and academic standards required for leadership roles, they add. 'Unions not invited for talks' Meanwhile, Sajith Cherandathur and A. Sheeraj, functionaries of the Kerala Government Nurses Union (KGNU), alleged that the government did not invite leaders of major nurses' unions to a recently held discussion on the Draft Special Rules. In a memorandum to the Health Secretary, the KGNU pointed out that BSc (Nursing) or Post-Basic BSc (Nursing) were the basic qualification for posts such as Maternal and Child Health Officer, District Public Health Nurse, and Public Health Nurse Tutor as per the guidelines of the Indian Nursing Council (INC). For teaching posts, MSc (Nursing) with specialisation in Community Health Nursing or Public Health Nursing was required. The union claimed that the recruitment guidelines followed by the Kerala Public Service Commission at present were outdated and not in tune with these guidelines. Also, there are many qualified nursing officers under the Directorate of Health Services who are being denied promotion because of the current rules. The union demanded that the recruitment criteria for these posts should follow the INC guidelines. Also, those with MSc (Nursing), BSc Nursing, Post-Basic BSc (Nursing), and MSc (Nursing) with specialisation in Community Health, Public Health or OBG should be considered for these posts.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Staff shortage, delay in creating new posts plague Kozhikode MCH
Two back-to-back fire-and-smoke breakouts at a recently built block of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, have also brought to light the staff shortage and the delay in creating new posts plaguing the premier healthcare institution that caters to the medical needs of patients from at least five districts in north Kerala. As many as 151 patients had to be evacuated and shifted elsewhere after smoke billowed out of the UPS battery room attached to the MRI scanning unit on the ground floor of the new building, constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), on the night of May 2. Just three days later, scores of patients who were brought back to the building from other wards in the hospital had to be evacuated again when another fire broke out in an operating theatre on its sixth floor. According to a section of medical staff at the hospital, these incidents are also a result of not focussing on the creation of new posts in the new block. They claim that a similar situation is prevailing in the super-speciality block and the Tertiary Cancer Care Centre and Research Institute as well. Along with this, there is a crisis related to staff shortage across various blocks in the hospital. Sources say that there are 393 posts of doctors, of which 61 are vacant. There are 279 posts of assistant professors, of which 53 are vacant. Eight of the 61 posts of associate professors are vacant. Of the 53 posts of professors, three are vacant. The nurses-patient ratio, which should have been 1:4 ideally, is reportedly 1:50 now. The hospital is still following the staff pattern developed in the 60s, though the patient load has increased manifold over the years. In a letter to the Director of Medical Education in 2017, the then principal of the medical college had sought the creation of nine posts of professors, 18 associate professors, 35 assistant professors, and 37 senior resident doctors at the PMSSY block. Last December, the hospital authorities again sought the creation of new posts in the building, which was opened in 2023. At the tertiary cancer care centre, one post each of associate professor in radiotherapy and radiation physics, and two posts of assistant professors were proposed. One post of head nurse, eight posts of staff nurse, and four posts of nursing assistants were sought to be created, along with those of paramedical staff. Sajith Cherandathur, Kozhikode district president of the Kerala Government Nurses' Union (KGNU), says that the super-speciality block, opened in 1996, requires around 200-250 posts of nurses, none of which have been created so far. Meanwhile, the government proposed to create 150 new posts at the PMSSY block after the recent incidents. The KGNU functionaries point out that the shortage is now being addressed through either rearrangement of staff or by appointing temporary workers under the hospital development society. They demanded that, instead of this, the government appoint permanent staff through the Kerala Public Service Commission.
