Shortage of nurses affects medical care at emergency unit

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 25

Owing to shortage of staff nurses at the emergency ward of the Civil Hospital, the medical care for critical patients has been affected badly. 

Currently, there are eight staff nurses rendering services at the emergency unit, against the required strength of 12. The situation is such that in the morning shift, there is only one nurse on duty on most of the occasions. 

Sources said despite shortage of staff nurses, a few staff nurses were allowed to go deputation to General Nurse Training (GNM) School and three staff nurses from the emergency unit are rendering services at the TB hospital where there is no permanent staff nurse currently.

The emergency units witness 15 to 40 patients requiring immediate medical care on a daily basis and there is only one staff nurse on duty in the morning shift, who is sometimes assisted by nursing students, compromising the quality of treatment given to the patients.

There are eight staff nurses at the emergency unit, three of them remain engaged at the TB hospital (permanent staff nurse has not been appointed), two of them avail weekly off on the same day and rest of them render services at the unit in three rotational shifts.

Two staff nurses, who were rendering services until July 2017, were deputed to teach nursing students at GNM Training School.

Sources in the Health Department said in their bid to avoid rigorous shifts that demand staff nurses to examine and render medical care to critical patients throughout the working hours of the respective shift, a few of them have taken transfers from higher-ups in the department through recommendations.

Civil Surgeon Hari Narain Singh said, “We have a shortage of staff nurses at all government health centres in the district. We are managing affairs by balancing the staff members.”