Coronavirus: More than 150 nurses at Pune's Jehangir Hospital have struck work since Sunday.
Amid rising cases of COVID-19 in Pune, more than 150 nurses at the premier Jehangir Hospital have struck work since Sunday over complaints of poor salary and 12-hour work shifts in PPE kits leading to severe dehydration. However, critical care and emergency services at the hospital, which is also treating coronavirus patients, have remained unaffected.
The nurses, led by the United Nurses Association, have stated that their repeated requests to address their problems, chief among them being better working conditions amid the coronavirus epidemic, have been ignored by the hospital management.
Now, in addition to the Jehangir Hospital administration, they have also written to the district collector and the municipal commissioner of Pune.
"Nurses' duty should not exceed six hours with PPE kits, and adequate rest should be provided," Jibin TC, state president of the United Nurses Association, has stated in his letter.
Other demands include strict adherence to quarantine and coronavirus testing protocols as per guidelines, separate accommodation and risk allowance for nurses working in Covid wards, staff should be paid during the quarantine period, medical coverage for nurses and dependents, and improved nurse-patient ratio as per norms.
Mr Jibin added that the nurses were forced to strike work when some hospital officials reached their hostel and threatened them for raising complaints.
Discontent among healthcare workers is a cause of concern as the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in Pune district was above 20 per cent.
For several days in the last week, Pune had reported more fresh cases of COVID-19 than Mumbai. The district also has the second highest Covid mortality rate in Maharashtra, the state worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic in India.
To tackle the rising coronavirus cases, the Pune administration now plans to set up three "jumbo facilities", each with 800 beds that would include 200 ICU ones. It also plans to bring nursing homes under the Covid care network.