Major surgeries halted in government hospitals amid indefinite nurses’ strike

The strike, a part of a state-wide protest held by the 47 branches of the Maharashtra State Nurses Association (MSNA) demands that the government halt contractual recruitment of nurses, increase allowances, and fill vacant posts to reduce the workload of nurses in government hospitals across Maharashtra.

Mumbai: After over 25,000 nurses in the state went on an indefinite strike suspending services on Thursday, government hospitals in Mumbai are facing a dire shortage of staff to conduct major surgeries. While nursing students in medical colleges are managing emergency services, hospitals are forced to postpone planned and routine surgeries.

At St George’s hospital, with most of its daily 333 nurses on strike from Thursday, 40 nursing students are managing the emergency services. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo ) (Praful Gangurde)

The strike, a part of a state-wide protest held by the 47 branches of the Maharashtra State Nurses Association (MSNA) demands that the government halt contractual recruitment of nurses, increase allowances, and fill vacant posts to reduce the workload of nurses in government hospitals across Maharashtra.

Dr Ajay Bhandarwar, dean of JJ Hospital said, “We are employing nursing students to aid us through this time. Only emergency surgeries are being done, but the doctors are handling it all. This issue can only be resolved between the association and the state government.”

At St George’s hospital, with most of its daily 333 nurses on strike from Thursday, 40 nursing students are managing the emergency services. The hospital’s resident doctors are also helping handle the patient load.

A senior official from the hospital, refusing to be named, said, “It is very difficult to continue operations as nurses are at the frontline of our work. Currently, the doctors are overseeing every patient as the students are still not completely trained.”

The official added that with at least 50 daily admissions, they were in a difficult situation, and would reach out to the government if the matter was not resolved soon. “If the strike is not called off today or tomorrow, we will seek help from the state government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide nurses on a contractual basis.”

On Friday, deans of all the government hospitals in Mumbai held a meeting with medical superintendents to discuss a plan of action if the strike persists and nurses continue to suspend their services.

Meanwhile, senior nurses in hospitals, despite bearing a heavier burden of work since Thursday, said that the strike was necessary. “The discrepancy in pay and neglect to the staffers is very evident. There must be a resolution as these questions have remained so for years,” said a senior nurse on the condition of anonymity.

Prakash Abitkar, minister of public health and family welfare said, “We will be organising a meeting as soon as possible with all concerned officials from the DMER (Directorate of Medical Education and Research), the public health department and others as well.” He added that with the monsoon session of the legislative assembly out of the way, the authorities would now hear the nurses out. “We will convince them to call off the strike and work together to solve their issues,” said Abitkar.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Nurses Association remained unsatisfied with the government, with no meetings held yet with the Directorate of Medical Education and Research or Prakash Abitkar, state minister of public health and family welfare.

“We do not want to meet anyone but the people responsible in this situation. Until we are heard, and all our demands are considered, this strike will continue. We are still suspending services and continuing the strike tomorrow,” said Hemlata Gajbe, state vice president of MSNA.

The DMER did not respond to queries from HT.