The medical health department is facing a shortage of at least 81% nursing officers in Uttar Pradesh, while the medical education department faces 41% shortage of regular nursing officers, said office-bearers of Rajkiya Nurses Sangh Uttar Pradesh (RNS UP).
“At least 3,257 nursing officer/nursing posts are vacant in the state health department against 8,144 sanctioned posts,” said Ashok Kumar general secretary of the RNS UP, at a press conference on Monday.
“Medical colleges across the state also face a similar shortage of regular nurses as at least 3,257 nursing officer posts are vacant against 7,866 sanctioned posts,” said Geetanshu Verma, treasurer and Sharli Bhandari, president of RNS UP at the press conference.
Sharing data Ashok Kumar said these vacancies hamper quality medical care. “In many hospitals, a nurse has to manage around 40 beds, while Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) say there should be one nurse for every six beds,” said Ashok Kumar.
“There are approximately 77,000 beds in government hospitals hence we require around 45,000 nurses including shift duties, leave, and reserve staff. Currently, only about 17,000 nurses are employed. These comprise roughly 3,500 regular staff and 14,500 contractual or NHM employees,” said Geetanshu Verma.
Senior-level positions have also not been filled for a long time. The posts of nursing superintendent and chief nursing officer have been vacant since 2010. This crisis has increased over the years due to the slow recruitment process and frequent retirement. While around 400 regular nurses were recruited in the 2021-22 period, there has been no major recruitment since then, they said.
“Staff shortages have increased the workload on nurses. A single nurse is responsible for administering medication, giving injections, managing emergencies, monitoring patients, maintaining records, and answering queries from patients’ attendants. Delays in overcrowded wards often lead to confrontations,” Beena Tripathi, president of the Medical Education Nurses’ Association said.
A total of 8,113 posts—comprising chief nursing officers, nursing superintendents, deputy nursing superintendents, assistant nursing superintendents, senior nursing officers, and nursing officers, are sanctioned across the colleges. Of these, 4,856 posts are filled, while 3,257 remain vacant, said Tripathi.
The association has demanded nurses be given home district posting, nurses in government hospitals be granted allowances similar to those at KGMU, PGI, and Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, registrar should be appointed to the Nursing Council, vacant posts should be filled and old pension scheme should be restored.
