Odisha healthcare services affected as nurses go on strike defying ESMA

The cease-work agitation by over 15,000 nursing officials in several State-run health facilities, including medical colleges, demanding regularisation of contractual workers, paralysed healthcare services across Odisha on Saturday as the nurses refused to budge from their stand.
The strike, which began on Thursday morning, had spared the ICU and operation theatres, but on Saturday, the nursing officers shunned all critical care in the state government-run facilities, including the Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar, SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack and MKCG Medical College and Hospital of Berhampur.
The nurses are demanding fulfilment of a 10-point charter, which includes the regularisation of contractual workers and consideration of 6 years contractual period as qualifying service in respect of senior nursing officers appointed before November 2013 and elimination of the outsourcing system.
The government has already invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) prohibiting the strike, but nurses have refused to budge.
With around 15,000 nurses from State-run medical colleges, district headquarters hospitals, and other hospitals participating in the agitation, the healthcare system has come under great stress with doctors doing nursing duty. In SCB Medical College and Hospital, junior doctors have been forced to give injections and administer saline drips. The leaves of all doctors have been cancelled. Many hospitals have been forced to rely on trainee nurses to provide healthcare.
In Bhubaneswar’s Capital Hospital, all elective surgeries have been stopped and only emergency operations are being done. Of the 181 nursing staff members, 131 are on strike, leaving only 50 nurses to attend to patients. As a result, hospital authorities are being forced to turn away patients, postpone non-emergency surgeries and limit admissions to only emergency cases. Struggling to provide healthcare, the Capital Hospital authorities have asked pharmacists to work as nurses.
“I was supposed to undergo surgery today, but now it’s uncertain. The hospital is referring us to private hospitals, but we can’t afford the expenses,” said a worried patient.
On Wednesday, talks between the Odisha Nursing Employees Association and state health secretary Aswathy S failed as the association demanded formation of a high-power inter-departmental committee for taking a favourable decision towards fulfilling their demands.