Nursing officer suspended at AIIMS Delhi over staff shortage strike

In an order issued by the AIIMS administration on Monday, nursing officer Harish Kumar Kajla was suspended with “immediate effect” for heading the protests and misbehaving with the duty officer on Saturday.

A nursing officer of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was suspended on Monday after protests by a group of nurses in the main operation theatre on Saturday (April 23) over staff shortage resulted in the cancellation of at least 50 planned surgeries.

AIIMS Delhi.

In an order issued by the AIIMS administration on Monday, nursing officer Harish Kumar Kajla was suspended with “immediate effect” for heading the protests and misbehaving with the duty officer on Saturday. “...Disciplinary proceedings are contemplated against Harish Kumar Kajla, nursing officer...during the period that this order shall remain in force the headquarters (of Kajla) should be New Delhi and (he) shall not leave the headquarters...,” the order read.

A senior official at AIIMS said a show cause notice was issued to four nursing staff, including Kajla, for Saturday’s incident and action has been initiated against him based on his response and the testimonies of other doctors and nurses who were present during the protest.

The resident doctors’ association of AIIMS, which has been demanding Kajla’s suspension after the incident, said on Monday that this “one-off situation” should not be treated as a face-off between doctors and nurses.