SRIKAKULAM: High drama continued in Srikakulam Government General Hospital (GGH) and Medical College, which is facing a nursing staff crunch, on the issue of deputation of nurses transferred to the GGH from King George Hospital, Vizag.
As part of general transfers, 57 staff nurses were shifted to Srikakulam GGH. Shockingly, on the day the nurses arrived at the GGH with the transfer orders, Directorate of Medical Education (DME) handed them deputation orders back to KGH, Vizag.
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For the record, there are 187 staff nurses out of 254 sanctioned posts in the 500-bed Srikakulam GGH. Out of the 187 nurses, about 13 were sent to various hospitals on deputation, including the KGH and the VIMS. Currently, 80 nurses’ posts are vacant in the GGH.
“What message did the DME officials wanted to convey by issuing transfer and deputation orders on the same day?” head nurse and District Nurses’ Association president NV Laxmi questioned. She also asked what is the use of transfer if the nurses were posted back to the same place in the name of deputation.
Surprisingly, no period of stay was mentioned in the deputation orders until further transfer. Laxmi threatened that they would stop working until justice is rendered to the senior staff nurses.
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It may be noted about 20 nurses were transferred to the Srikakulam GGH in 2011 and another 35 from the KGH in 2017. All of them submitted request letters to the DME seeking transfer or deputation back to Visakhapatnam.
They have been waiting for the orders since past many years.
“With the staff crunch, we work nights on alternate months,” Laxmi said. “We dread the night shifts as we have to work continuously for almost 12 hours,” she added.
The deputation of 34 nursing staff to the KGH is highly incorrect. It is a pity the DME did not give priority to those nurses waiting since 2011 and 2012 for transfer or deputation to Visakhaptnam, the nurses alleged.
P Bhavani, who was transferred to Srikakulam from the KGH in 2017, lamented she underwent special training in cardiothoracic surgery and even completed MSc Nursing.
Although she is highly qualified and trained in super speciality surgery, the DME officials didn’t consider her appeal either for transfer or deputation to Vizag.
“I have been working in the Srikakulam GGH since my transfer from KGH in 2011. I submitted several letters to the MCE seeking transfer or deputation to Visakhapatnam, but to no avail. Deputation should be granted based on seniority,” A Naga Jyothi, a GGH nurse, said.
About 50 nurses are waiting from 2011 to work in KGH, Visakhapatnam on deputation.
When contacted, GGH Superintendent A Krishna Murthy said 57 staff nurses were transferred to Srikakulam on July 22. Out of them, 34 were given deputation orders back to KGH.
Following the directives of the higher-ups and with the approval of the District Collector, the relieving orders were issued, he added.
“Although we took the issue to the notice of the District Collector and Srikakulm MLA Dharmana Prasada Rao, our efforts went in vain,” Srikakulam NGO association president H Sairam said.
He also said the deputation staff would draw the salary from the Srikakulam GGH for working in the KGH. Insufficient nursing staff will be an issue with regard to the MCI norms.
As deputations are not be considered under vacancies, the posts (of nurses) will remain vacant forever, he added.