The nurses of the Delhi government-run GB Pant superspeciality hospital have raised objections to the decision of the institute to open new departments and increase the number of beds in existing wards. According to nurses, the shortage of manpower has become serious.
Official figures show that more than 50% of senior nurses posts are still unfilled. The hospital's nursing officers have called for an increase in staff to coordinate with the new facilities. They estimate that the hospital requires at least 1,000 additional nurses.
"The hospital continues to add departments and increase the bed strength of its wards. They don't consider the fact that beds can't be used to treat patients. Already, the institution is short of staff. They are now being forced to take on the additional departments and wards. This directly impacts the quality of patient care that the hospital can provide," L D Ramchandani (president of the nursing association of GB Pant) said.
Insufficient senior nurses
According to official statistics, more than 50% of senior nurse positions remain unfilled. The hospital has 1,097 nurses. There are 184 vacant posts. The Senior Nursing Officers (SNO) are the most vacant between the filled and sanctioned posts.
"We are experiencing an acute shortage in SNOs at the hospital. Only 111 out of 205 positions are currently filled. They are responsible for managing medicine stores and surgical equipment. Ramchandani said that the shortage of these senior nurse is severely affecting the hospital's medical services."
The nurses association raised the matter with the administration and wrote to the letter to L-G. In the meantime, the hospital administration was not available for comment.
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