Medical staff at GMC protests removal of contractual nurses

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 29

The medical staff at Government Medical College here today staged a protest against the state government for abolishing the services of around 80 contractual staff nurses working on deputation from Government Medical College, Patiala.

Leading the protest, Nursing Association president Raj Bedi Anand and spokesperson of collegiums of various employees associations Jarmanjit Singh Bath criticised the move of the government. They stated that the nurses have become scapegoats of the political vendetta of the state government, as they were employed during the SAD-BJP rule.

Anand said Government Medical College Hospital has a total of 204 regular staff nurses and around 170 contractual nurses. She said additionally 80 nurses from GMC, Patiala, were sent to the local hospital in view of the heavy workload.

She said the hospital has initiated many new facilities during the recent years and as such the workload has increased. “With the government scrapping the services of 80 contractual nurses, the remaining staff would not be able to handle the workload. Besides, contractual nurses have given the prime years of their life in government hospitals, hoping that their services would be regularised but, instead, their services have been scrapped which is unjustified,” she said.

The Nursing Association leaders stated that if the state government did not reverse its decision, they would intensify their protest and regular employees too would support the cause of the contractual nurses.