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Overburdened Kalwa hospital medical staff demand transport facility
The nursing and medical staff of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, Thane, stopped work for half an hour on Tuesday, demanding rescheduling of duty timings
The nursing and medical staff of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, Thane, stopped work for half an hour on Tuesday, demanding rescheduling of duty timings and providing transport to those nurses who come from far.
The hospital, a major civic-run hospital in the city, is grappling with staff shortage, overburdened employees and lack of facilities.
On Tuesday, around 50 nurses and medical staff cornered the dean of the hospital, claiming that favourable treatment is meted to some staffers while others are made to work for 12 to 15 hours wearing PPE kits.
The dean, Pratibha Sawant, who has joined recently, was unavailable for comment despite repeated efforts to contact her.
A nurse, who is working in the hospital for over two decades, said, “The nurses come from Ambernath, Vangani, Badlapur, Asangaon, Kalyan-Dombivli and Thane. When the pandemic started, our seniors decided that the nurses from Kalyan Dombivli and beyond will be given only morning duty. Those from Thane and nearby areas will get afternoon and night duty. However, those nurses coming from other cities do not have transport facility and reach work late. Most nurses on night shift have to work for more hours.”
She said there is no bus provision for nurses from the city. “Last week, I was on afternoon duty and the nurse on night duty had not arrived so my senior asked me to do double duty. It is not easy to work for 20 hours wearing PPE suit. Most of us are overworked. Those, who test positive for Covid, are not given proper medical aid. We are not guided about changes in government guidelines,” she added.
Another nurse said transport service and equal division of work are their main demands. “There is lot of favouritism in allotting duties. All nurses should be given the same amount of work. TMC is ready to provide facilities but the hospital management should communicate properly with them.”
An official from the health department said, “The dean held a meeting with the nurses and the officials. We have provided them bus service and have asked them for the schedule of each shift so we can operate the buses accordingly. The issue of shift schedule will also be resolved.”
