Pune: The strike by nurses in state-run hospitals entered its sixth day on Wednesday, with state health minister Prakash Abitkar only declaring that a high-level meeting will be called “soon” to discuss the demands.“We will soon conduct a meeting with the chief minister and medical education minister and resolve the issues,” Abitkar stated on Wednesday.Despite the meeting on Tuesday with medical education and research minister Hasan Mushrif, the impasse between the protesting nurses and state govt continued, causing great inconvenience to patients.In the last six days, close to 500 major and minor surgeries at Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) have been indefinitely postponed. The agitation has also had a significant impact on new admissions, with at least 1,300 refusals.Abitkar assured that govt is contemplating the demands presented by the nurses. He added, “On Tuesday, we met with the nurses’ union, where issues pertaining to the health department were discussed positively. We have also requested CM Devendra Fadnavis for a joint meeting with the director of medical education (DMER). We will do whatever is possible from our end. However, with regards to major issues, we will need a meeting with the CM.“He added, “The union is against contractual recruitment; however, it is our policy to recruit nurses on a contract basis.” While the nurses’ association has been insisting upon a joint meeting, the ministers are yet to fix a date for the same.Sassoon medical superintendent Dr Yallapa Jadhav informed TOI that on Wednesday, SGH received an additional 100 nurses from private nursing colleges. He added, “OPD services and our emergency services remain unaffected.”More nurses also continued to join the strike at Sassoon. Jadhav said, “We have close to 400 nurses on strike as of Wednesday and the impact on planned surgeries and new admissions continues. The nurses are primarily responsible for maintaining the TRP chart, which records the patient’s temperature, respiration, and pulse rate. They administer the injectables and provide medicines to patients on time. Nurses are also responsible for ensuring on-time food delivery to patients based on dietary requirements, and they ensure that the cleanliness of the ward is maintained. Further, nurses supervise Class IV staff.”
