Nurse shortage in Sambalpur HQ hospital

Sambalpur: The Sambalpur district headquarters hospital here is grappling with severe shortage of staff nurses. On Thursday, members of Odisha Nursing Employees’ Association, Sambalpur branch, discussed with chief district medical officer Panakajini Panda about it and demanded appointment of the required number of staff nurses.

Members of the association said though there should be at least 80 staff nurses in the hospital, it is running with only 22 resulting in severe workload for those nurses currently posted. General secretary of Odisha Nursing Employees Association (Sambalpur) Bilasa Tandia said, “There are 300 beds in the 10 wards of the hospital. At least 40 staff nurses should be engaged in the 10 wards. Similarly, there are three operation theatres, including gynaecology and ophthalmology”.

At least four staff nurses should be engaged in each operation theatre. This apart, there are six tables in the labour room of the hospital and at least 12 staff nurses should be engaged in the labour room. There should be four staff nurses in burn unit.

CDMO Pankajini Panda admitted to the shortage of nurses in the hospital. “We will initiate steps to appoint the required number of nurses in the hospital shortly,” Panda said.

“We are facing problems due to the absence of the required number of staff nurses,” she said.

“We have informed the higher-ups about the staff nurse shortage several times. The inflow of patients to the hospital is increasing with each passing day and the number of staff nurses should also increase correspondingly,” she said.

CDMO Pankajini Panda admitted to the shortage of nurses in the hospital. “We will initiate steps to appoint the required number of nurses in the hospital shortly,” Panda said.