KOCHI: More than ten days after nurses began protests in Kerala demanding a wage hike, all four associations of healthcare providers in the state have, for the first time, made a joint plea to the nursing community to refrain from the token strike planned for Tuesday.
"If the nurses go on strike, the private hospitals, which provides 70 per cent of the healthcare services in Kerala, will not be in a position to admit any new patients and would be forced to discharge the admitted patients," a joint statement by healthcare providers said, adding that this would lead to an unavoidable increase in number of patients in the government hospitals, which were already packed due to a fever epidemic.
The joint statement by the Association of Healthcare Providers of India-Kerala (AHPI), Kerala Private Hospital Association (KPHA), Association of Advanced Speciality Healthcare Institutions (AASHI), Qualified Private Medical Practitioners Association (QPMA), Catholic Healthcare Association Of India (CHAI) -- the five associations representing most of the private hospitals in the state -- said the proposed strike would adversely impact the healthcare service at a time when the state is facing a fever epidemic.
Till now nurses have been undertaking relay protests in five districts of the state including Kannur, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Thiruvanthapuram, but they have not stayed away from duty.
"We would like to draw your attention to the current crisis confronting all of us. When we are at one hand overwhelmed by a large influx of patients due to the fever epidemic, the nurses' agitation will adversely impact the care being provided to our patients," it said.
The healthcare sector employs over 1.65 lakh people across the state and is among the largest job providers.
The four associations claimed that most of the hospitals in the state complied with the statutory norms on wages.
The statement said all the hospital associations were sympathetic towards the need for a reasonable wage revision for the nurses. "All hospital associations have been actively collaborating with the state government/industrial relations committee to arrive at the revised minimum wages," it said.