Status: Not Approved
Chennai: Tamil Nadu, like many other parts of the country, is desperately in need of more nurses – the workhorses that hold the rickety healthcare system together. With a population of 8 crore and 1.7 lakh registered nurses, the state is facing a deficit of 65,000 nurses to meet the World Health Organisation standards of three nurses per 1,000 population.
With the number of students admitted to nearly 500 colleges over the last four years, the State Nursing Council projects around 98,000 nursing graduates will register with the council between 2024 and 2027. “If we expect the attrition rate to be 10%, then we are likely to meet the WHO norms by 2027,” said the council’s Registrar, Anigrace Kalaimathi.
Experts, however, say it may not be so soon for two reasons. First, the distribution of nurses are uneven — there are more nurses in cities compared to rural areas. Secondly, the attrition rates among nurses in India have gone up in the post-Covid era. Data show at least 5,000 nurses left TN for jobs in the US, Canada, European, and Middle East countries. “The screening tests are easier to clear now. Nurses get far higher pay compared to salaries they receive here. While cities like Chennai and Coimbatore pay anywhere between Rs 12,000 to Rs 40,000 a month, the pay package abroad is over Rs 2 lakh a month,” said Saraswathy R, who retired from a private hospital. “In many countries, they offer PR or even citizenship to nurses with experience. They quality life is much better abroad for most of these nurses,” she added.
Hospital managements in rural areas in TN complain they do not have experienced nurses for recruitment, and govt hospitals suffer a severe staff crunch. “There are times we have just one nurse on night shift for 12 critically ill patients in the ICU or one nurse in the ward of about 40 patients. The govt must increase sanctioned staff to improve the quality of care. In rural areas there aren’t enough nurses,” said a senior govt nurse.
Nursing associations say the state must consider starting the 11 govt nursing colleges it proposed nearly two years ago. “The DME told us that the files related to these colleges are still awaiting approval from the finance department,” said a senior member of the Tamil Nadu Govt Nurses Association. More than 200 colleges are offering three-year diploma and general nursing and midwifery courses and 271 colleges offering BSc in nursing. While 25 govt colleges offer diploma courses, there are just six colleges offering nursing degrees compared to 36 govt colleges offering MBBS degrees. “Starting new colleges will mean more interns for govt hospitals too,” she pointed out.
Officials at the Directorate of Medical Education said they were working with the govt to ensure there are nursing colleges – govt or private – in all districts. “Districts including Nilgiris, Ramanathapuram, Tirupattur, and Ariyalur don’t have any nursing colleges now,” an official said. MSID:: 120284805 413 |