Government hospitals lack enough nurses

Times of India‎‎‎: Madurai: Sunday, December 04, 2016.

An RTI filed by B Anand Raj, a health activist, has revealed that most government hospitals in Tamil Nadu lack the required number of staff nurses, who play a crucial role in the functioning of these facilities.

Most of the major government hospitals lacked the required strength with Madurai's Government Rajaji Hospital topping the list. The average inpatients at the GRH on a daily basis is 2,600, while the bed strength is only 2,518. There are only 436 nurses, of which only 338 are permanent, to take care of these patients. As per MCI specifications, there should be at least 1,200 nurses employed at the hospital.

Nurses are crucial for the functioning of any hospital, as they are the constant monitors of the patient's health. There are 19 medical colleges functioning in Tamil Nadu, with MCI permission, but they are found to be faulty in terms of the number of nurses employed, he said.

Government Rajaji Hospital caters to nine southern districts. There should at least be a minimum of 800 nurses at the hospital. Other hospitals with short-staffed nurses include Tuticorin Government Hospital with only 254 nurses as against the required 300, Tirunelveli Government Hospital which has 202 nurses as against the required 400, Thanjavur Government Hospital which has 162 as against the required 350 nurses and Coimbatore Government Hospital which has 230 nurses as against the required 400.

However, the government hospitals in Sivagangai, Tiruvarur, Theni, Villupuram and Dharmapuri, which are smaller than the above mentioned hospitals, have a better nurse to patient ratio, as per the records. However, Theni hospital was recently embroiled in controversy over scavengers being used to attend to patients. It is currently under investigation.

The Tiruvarur hospital has 255 nurses to treat 400 patients daily. If GRH is to have the same nurse to patient ratio as the government hospital in Tiruvarur, then it should have at least 800 nurses. While Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital and the GRH have more or less the same bed and patient strength, the former has 700 permanent nurses, 300 more than the latter.

The GRH treats 25 lakh outpatients, eight lakh inpatients and an average of 22,000 deliveries annually. This hospital also has the highest infant mortality rates in Tamil Nadu when compared to other government hospitals. The MCI rule says that there should be a staff nurse for every eight patients, but many hospitals have only three to four nurses for more than 50 patients. The post-operative ward in the gynaecology department at the GRH has only two nurses for about 150 patients.