Cops arrest 1,500 nurses across TN

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Over 1,500 nurses from government hospitals and medical colleges were arrested across the state on Tuesday after they took to the streets protesting against the recent government order (GO) to appoint nursing students from government-recognised private nursing colleges as well government medical institutions.

In Chennai, the agitation took an ugly turn after some of the senior nurses at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Kilpauk Medical College Hospital and Stanley Medical College Hospital refused to allow other nurses who wanted to report to work. Following this, the police detained 500 protesters.
In Madurai, nurses marked their protest by forming a human chain in front of the Government Rajaji Hospital.

In a GO dated January 18, the state had decided that “in future, all vacant posts of nurses in all government medical institutions shall be filled up from among the trained nurses both in the government institutions and government-approved private nursing institutions by conducting an examination by the Medical Services Recruitment Board”.

Objecting to this, nurses from government hospitals and medical colleges across the state raised slogans and demanded that the candidates be recruited on seniority basis alone.

“Though we are not paid much, we continue to work in government hospitals since we consider this as a service to the patients. While we slog without a break, it is unfair for the government to appoint nurses from private colleges as meritorious students would be affected because of this decision,” said Ms Pushpalatha, a senior nurse at the GH. The police were called to tackle the situation when the protesters refused to budge even after Dr Kanagasabai, dean of MMC and other senior doctors requested them to get back to work.

Meanwhile, nurses from private nursing colleges expressed shock over the agitation and claimed that by such actions, the protesters were trying to take away their basic right of getting good jobs.