Private Hospital unite to curb nurses revolt

CHENNAI: The city’s major private players in the healthcare sector on Saturday joined hands to handle strikes in major hospitals, by nurses demanding better benefits. In a joint statement, Apollo Hospitals, Madras Medical Mission, MIOT Hospitals, Fortis Malar Hospital, Global Hospital and Billroth Hospital termed the nurses demands “unreasonable”. They have also said that any decision with regard to the nurses’ demands will be taken “uniformly and through a collective stance in handling these issues”.Following a two-day strike by 260 nurses of the Madras Medical Mission, that entered the third day on Saturday, nurses in another city hospital also staged a walk out. Sources told Express that the nurses were asking for a direct increase in salary from the existing Rs 10,000 to Rs 17,000. They also demanded that the existing bond system be done away with.In response, the managements pointed out that any amendments need to take into account other personnel in the hospital system, “without favouring any particular, specific or isolated group.” They also pointed out that the nurses are being offered direct and indirect benefits, besides which an “enormous amount” is spent on training and skill building” which they (the nurses) are not charged for.Meanwhile, the MMM management hit out at the nurses who abandoned their duty and termed their strike “illegal”. According to Brigadier Joe Curian, CEO of MMM, “Most of these nurses walked out of the ICU where patients were on ventilators and life support. If anything had happened to those patients it could be culpable homicide,” he said adding, “We have discharged non-critical patients and our nursing superintendents are working overtime.”According to a arbitration notice signed by Additional Commissioner of Labour, Somburajan C, the nurses were asked to return to work on Saturday, after the management agreed to a few of their demands. Nurses with the All India Private Nurses Association have said they will continue the stir indefinitely till “justice is done”. This might be difficult as most of them are migrants and freshers.