Telangana: Nursing association against new circular

Hyderabad: A circular issued at the Government General Hospital in Mahbubnagar has upset nurses associations. The circular makes it mandatory for nursing staff to take patients’ samples to the lab and collect the reports after the tests.

Opposing the additional task, the associations said that nurses were already discharging important duties. Each of them was assigned with 21 tasks. Saddling them with one more would affect their work.

B. Aruna, staff nurse in a government hospital, said, “The staff nurse’s role is crucial in the ward. What happens if the nurse has gone away to give the samples and something happens in the ward? I personally oppose this idea.”

Dr Rajeshwari Muppidi, president, Trained Nurses Association of India, said there was a possibility that the decision would be gradually extended to other government hospitals, “When a policy is made or a decision taken on the duties of nurses, experts should be consulted,” Dr Muppidi said.

She added: “It is an open secret that nurses are not allowed to speak and or not included in policy-making or decision-making in the government sector.”

Dr Muppidi said nurses were long asking for a separate directorate of nursing services. “This can be very helpful to solve many such issues at government sector. There is an urgency in the government medical sector to bring in reforms,” she said.