Govt running JNIMS sans regular nursing sister
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, July 24 2022:
Though nursing sister
is an important post in any
hospital; JNIMS, the only
medical college run by the
state government, is operating without any regular
nursing sister despite having
several staff nurses eligible to
fill in the post.
According to a source,
37 posts for nursing sisters
were created in 2017 over and
above the existing strength.
Promotion of several qualified staff nurses to the newly
created posts got deferred
following a pending court
case.
However, the case was
closed with the court giving its final verdict on June
6 this year.
Earlier on May
6, 33 nursing sisters were
promoted to the posts of
Assistant Nursing Superintendent (ANS).
Consequent to the promotion of 33 nursing sisters to
ASN, the institute now has
78 vacant posts of nursing
sisters.
Trained Nurses' Association, JNIMS and Nursing Superintendent of the institute
in separate memorandums
submitted to the JNIMS director on July 2 and 11 urged
for filling the vacant posts
through conduct of DPC and
mentioned about the pending promotion opportunity
of several nursing staff, and
impact in providing quality
nursing care to the patients
among other issues.
The source further informed that nursing sister
supervises staff nurses, para
medical staff, attendants and
sweepers posted in a hospital
ward.
In the absence of any
regular nursing sisters, only
12 nursing sister in-charges
are running the entire hospital now.
They were assigned the duty of nursing
sister in-charges without
any additional remuneration
when the hospital extended
in-patient wards during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Their
additional charges are being
continued since then through
three different orders issued
respectively in December
2020, June 2021 and January 2022.Even though these
12 in-charges are rendering
the duty of nursing sister,
their service period as incharge will not be counted
at the time of promotion to
ANS as it requires five years
of regular service as nursing
sisters.
On the other hand, 66 staff
nurses, who have been working in the institute since it
was known as JN Hospital,
are still not getting their
rightful facilities and benefits.
Nurses, who joined the
health department in the
same year in 2006, availed
benefits under Modified
Assured Career Progression
(MACP) Scheme but these
66 staff nurses are not getting the benefit till date as
JNIMS being an institute run
by a society does not have the
facility of MACP.
However,
the state government issued
an order on November 30,
2021 covering JNIMS under
MACP scheme after grade
3 and 4 employees pursued
the matter.
Subsequent to the order,
JNIMS director issued an
order informing employees
covered under MACP scheme
to submit ACR and updated
service book by March 4 this
year.
However, former director of the institute is refusing
to sign on the relevant documents of his period and as
such the process for MACP
scheme is still pending.
At the same time, JNIMS employees are not
getting the 7th revised pay till date even
though the government had issued an order
on November 12, 2021 to implement the
revised pay scale from August 1, 2021.
Expressing concern over these issues, a
staff nurse posted in one of the wards of
the hospital told The People's Chronicle
that they are simply demanding to provide
what they deserve.
They do not want to
affect the patient care service by getting
engaged in any activities such as protest
or going from office to office to seek their
entitlements, she added.
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