Srinagar, Sep 15: The ongoing strike by National Health Mission (NHM) employees has prompted the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir to direct hospitals and other health institutions to reorganize available manpower and duty rosters to ensure continuity of essential patient-care services.
The Directorate has asked Medical Superintendents, Block Medical Officers and heads of institutions to ensure the presence and proper deployment of all available regular staff.
Hospitals and health institutions have been directed to maintain adequate manpower in critical and patient-care areas, including outpatient departments, inpatient departments, emergency services, labour rooms, operation theatres, diagnostic units and pharmacies.
The Directorate has also authorized institutions to adjust duty rosters wherever necessary to address manpower shortages caused by the absence of NHM employees.
Institutions have been instructed to immediately report any shortage of manpower affecting essential services to the Directorate so that necessary intervention can be made.
The directions indicate the operational impact of the strike, which has entered its second week after NHM employees extended their agitation by another 72 hours from September 15.
According to their association, more than 12,000 NHM employees are participating in the agitation across Jammu and Kashmir. The employees are demanding pay parity, a comprehensive policy for job security and regularisation, along with social-security benefits such as EPF, ESI and insurance coverage.
The impact on health services has varied across districts. In Anantnag, around 700 NHM employees were reported to have remained off duty, with several hospitals operating with limited services.
The strike also involves employees working under various NHM programmes, including the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme. Employees associated with the programme have said that its functioning has been affected by the ongoing agitation.
NHM employees extended the strike after talks with the government failed to produce a written assurance or a time-bound resolution of their demands. The agitation continues across Jammu and Kashmir.
