SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad Oct 23: Patients’ services in Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH) have been paralyzed since Saturday morning after the outsourced nursing staff went on an indefinite strike demanding immediate salary payment which is due for five months.
Following the strike of the nursing staff, administration of drugs and dressing services to patients in different wards of hospital have been badly affected.
SNMMCH Superintendent, Dr Arun Kumar Barnwal, admitted that the strike has hit the service to patients in wards including emergency. “Hospital has a nursing staff strength of 507 and among them 425 are outsourced employees. Obviously work would be affected by the strike,” he said.
Frontline Outsourcing Company has deployed its nurses in the hospital. Sources said that the state government has not cleared its bill for the last seven to eight months resulting in the non-payment of salary to these nursing staff.
However, the superintendent said that he talked to the officials at the health department and has been informed that payment to the outsourcing company would be made in two to three days.
This is the second time in two months that the nursing staff of this outsourcing company have gone on a strike in SNMMCH. In September, they had gone on a strike for the same reason but after getting assurance from the superintendent Dr Arun Kumar Barnwal, they returned to work after five hours.
Agitating nursing staff pointed out that the outsourcing company delays the payment every month. Even during Durga Puja, the company did not pay any staff.
“We had given prior notice of strike for the pending payment. When the outsourcing company management did not reply till October, we decided to proceed with our strike,” said the nurses who have been sitting on the gate of the hospital since the first shift (morning).
Patients in different wards of the hospital said that they were facing hardship in the absence of nursing staff. “Though doctors in round visited the beds in the ward and assured us to sort out the problem, we are waiting for one hour and no nurse has come yet,” said a patient admitted in the gynaecology ward.
