BENGALURU: At least 160 nurses and 20 lab technicians have been on strike in Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology for the past one week. This has severely affected patient care though the hospital authorities argue to the contrary. The nurses are protesting the hospital’s call to hire 150 nurses on a contract basis for nine months through the paramedical nursing board. Manjula V, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education Department, told The New Indian Express, “We cannot regularise them. There is a Supreme Court case where the court itself clearly says you cannot regularise those hired on an ad hoc basis. They cannot hold the hospital to ransom if it wants to hire trained nurses with tested skill sets. Some of the ad hoc nurses don’t have skill sets.”
“The real problem is that the government is still examining the hospital’s request for more permanent posts,” she added. Dr Krishnamurthy S, emeritus consultant, Kidwai, said, “Their demands are totally unjustified. Experience does not matter. We are shortly advertising for 51 permanent nurses’ posts through Karnataka Examinations Authority. Posting should be made on the basis of merit and a roaster system where we have to make reservations too. Till that time, we will utilise their services. We have 112 permanent nurses, 27 from Victoria Hospital, 25 from Global College of Nursing and 40 from Kidwai College of Nursing.”
Trainee tag irks nurses
Even a contract nurse who has worked in the hospital for 10 years bears the tag of a ‘trainee’ in Kidwai as under the existing system they have to renew their contract every six months. Durgappa Padsali has been a contract nurse in Kidwai for four years now. “Why are we called ‘trainees’ no matter how long we work here? What ‘exactly’ are they ‘training’ us in?,” he questioned.
“What is the need for calling for applications again if we have been working here across all departments in Kidwai? How did they hire us if we weren’t doing our jobs well? Will fresh graduates know better?,” asked Sowmya HN who has been working there for three years.42-year-old Shobha RK joined Kidwai as a ‘trainee’ nurse in 2008 and still is. She still earns only Rs 15,000. A permanent nurse with similar experience would earn at least Rs 35,000.
No ID cards given
Another grouse that the striking nurses have are that they are not provided identity cards as proof that they are oncology nurses in Kidwai. Sowmya said, “There is absolutely no proof that we work here when we go outside. How can you function like this?”Dr KB Lingegowda, director of Kidwai said that the identity cards are ready but the striking nurses haven’t collected them. Savitha J who has been there for two years said, “Do we have to strike to get identity cards? Up until we protested, why didn’t it occur to the hospital that we should be given identity cards. Even now we only sign in a register as proof of attendance. There is no biometric system.”
Salaries low
Another demand of the striking nurses is hike in salary. Currently, they are paid Rs 15,000 and a hike to Rs 18,000 was proposed by the finance committee of the hospital and is pending government approval, which is also woefully low. It is the second largest cancer hospital in the country. Kidwai sees 18,000 new cancer patients every year and three lakh follow up cases annually.