Issue of nurses’ regularisation resolved — Minister Paiwang

Paiwang Konyak along with the Kayakalp awardees and other officials in Kohima, on Tuesday. (EM Images)

KOHIMA — Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Paiwang Konyak, announced on Tuesday that the issue of regularisation of nurses, which has been pending in court for years, has finally been resolved.

“Now we will be regularising those nurse on queue system, and have given them the privilege of no age bar,” the minister said.

Paiwang disclosed this in his address during the felicitation programme of Kayakalp awardees for the year 2023-24 and 2024-25 held at the conference hall of Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Kohima.

He also updated that the Zunheboto land issue, which had been pending for over a decade, has been resolved.

Noting that the health department often makes headlines for the wrong reasons, he assured that the department is now “going in the right direction.”

While taking bold steps, there are always hurdles but overcoming them is essential, as it equips one with greater knowledge and strength to navigate future challenges, he said.

Talking about manpower in the department, the minister said that there are more than 42 vacancies in the National Health Mission (NHM) but that there are “no takers.”

A few hundred vacancies have already been filled by Covid-19 doctors and other medical staff, and the matter is in court," Paiwang reminded.

“And we have a clear vacancy of more than 60 in the state for medical officers (MOs) and we are making effort with the NPSC to recruit separately so that instead of waiting for the whole technical examination, if they can conduct the MOs’ recruitment separately, it will benefit not only the health department but the entire state,” he added.

The minister also announced that he plans to visit all the remaining district hospitals he hasn't yet visited within a short period of time.

To the hospitals and health centres which received awards, he expressed hope their clinical performance matches their outward achievements.

He also urged medical workers to take a bold step, saying that despite the department's efforts to promote health centres, he doesn’t foresee any transformation in district hospitals without their intervention. He encouraged officials and doctors to bring about change in their own areas of work.

Utilisation of district hospital funds

According to the minister, most district hospitals are hiring fourth-grade staff instead of technicians using funds from PMJAY and CMHIS. Additionally, some hospitals have unused equipment, citing a lack of technicians as the reason. The minister emphasised that if the funds received by district hospitals are utilised efficiently, the manpower shortage can be addressed.

Paiwang also shared that during his visits to 40% of the district hospitals, hospital heads and doctors rarely meet with administrators. He suggested that regular meetings should be held with administrators to discuss how to effectively utilise funds and address pressing issues, such as manpower and nurse shortages.

Creation of sub centres and PHC upgrade

He went on to mention that over the years, many sub-centres have been established without nurses, and community health centres (CHCs) have been upgraded to primary health centres (PHCs) without doctors.

“It is our fault because we blindly went ahead without determining the manpower and resources needed, just to impress our people during elections,” he said.

Disclosing that he had temporarily banned new creations and upgrades for two years, but this year he lifted the ban, allowing for new creations and upgrades with certain conditions. Specifically, the chief medical officer (CMO) of the district must verify the proposals, and a committee must be formed to determine the feasibility and requirements.

Further, acknowledging that Zunheboto district has been neglected in terms of healthcare, the minister confided that he has plans to visit the district hospital soon.

Paiwang also expressed concern that the chief medical officer's (CMO) office is currently operating out of a church building. To address this, he assured to take up the matter promptly and ensure that construction for a dedicated CMO office in Zunheboto is initiated in the next financial year.

During the programme, S Tainiu, Additional Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, also delivered a short speech, acknowledging the awardees and encouraging all centres to continue striving for excellence.