In a recent development, nurses at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad went on a flash protest against their workload. They demanded the removal of the director, citing a significant reduction in the number of nurses from 2,300 to just over 800. This has created an immense burden on the 500 regular nurses, resulting in a difficult working environment. The protesting nurses also alleged that the director did not give them time to express their concerns and issues.
Moreover, the nurses accused the administration of shifting patients from emergency to general wards to show the availability of beds. They claimed that this practice caused inconvenience to patients and increased the burden on nurses.
In response to the protest, NIMS authorities stated that two nurses, nursing superintendent Lalitha Kumari and staff nurse S Vijaya Kumari, were issued memos for not signing the attendance register. Vijaya Kumari had not signed the attendance register for 143 days in 2022, while Lalitha Kumari had not entered her casual leaves in the online system. The memo stated that Lalitha Kumari had entered CLs in the attendance register kept at the medical superintendent’s office but had not applied online through HIMS. The two nurses have been asked to explain the discrepancy in their leaves and why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for irregularity.
The protest ended after the management formed a committee to address the nurses’ concerns. The committee will work towards resolving the issues and ensuring a better working environment for the nurses.
