Berhampur: Nurses of the COVID-19 hospital at Sitalapalli in Berhampur of Ganjam district held a demonstration in front of the office of the Medical College Thursday demanding regularisation of their services.
It was learnt that Odisha Sub-Ordinate Staff Selection Commission floated a notification inviting applications from eligible candidates for filling up of 6432 vacant posts of nursing officers.
The nurses urged the government as they have been serving the COVID-19 patients since the last nine months, the state government should give them first priority for the vacant nursing posts in various government hospitals of Odisha.
Seeking necessary action in this regard, the nurses wrote a letter to CM Naveen Patnaik stating, “We have been discharging emergency service to the patients in the dedicated COVID-19 Hospital, MKCG MCH in Berhampur as staff nurses (currently designated as nursing officer) with sincerity and dedicated efforts. A few of our nursing officers reportedly got infected with COVID-I9 during their duty period. However, despite being in the frontline and having managed the pandemic situation so well, the government is not empathetic towards us, the Covid warriors.”
“We have been working selflessly for the government for the last 9 months. Each of us has worked hard and it is because of everyone’s contribution that red-zoned Ganjam is now a green zone. The government is aware of the efforts we have made during the crisis situation. There are 6432 vacant posts, and 3500-odd nurses in Odisha are awaiting regularisation. MKCG has a requirement of 240 nursing officers. Our only demand is that our case should be prioritised and the government should give us permanent employment,” said a protestor.
Notably, though the nurses were on strike the patient care service at the departments are unaffected because nurses were doing hospital services as well.
PNN
