BENGALURU: Staff nurses at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) have taken a call to go ahead with the protest even on the second day stating that they have not received any assurance from the management regarding their grievances. They would stage a demonstration in front of the Registrar's office to mark their protest.
Among their primary demands are that the number of sanctioned posts be increased, promotions on time and minimise the number of contractual employees.
On Monday, a group of nurses protested without attending to elective cases at the Operation Theatre. As they refused to perform the pre-operative procedures and lend a helping hand to doctors, several scheduled cases of surgery were postponed.
The protest began after the management took a call to inaugurate a new Operation Theatre that has been constructed at a cost of Rs 60 crore without providing additional staff.
Meanwhile, Dr B N Gangadhar, director, NIMHANS told the New Indian Express that the issue has been persisting for a while now. "It is true that more hands are needed. We are seeking an additional 300 posts to be sanctioned for the new OT to be operational," he said.
Condemning the move by the nurses to go on a protest suspending services, he added, “It is for the first time in the history of the Institute that such a thing has happened. It is unacceptable to take hapless patients at ransom that way. We agree that the process might have been delayed. But the process of getting their issues addressed is on.”