With the National Health Mission Employees Association Nagaland (NEAN), comprising of around 150 doctors from various fields including over 700 nurses across the state on “indefinite cease work” that took effect from Sunday, several district hospitals and quarantine centres across the state manned by NHM employees have been affected.
PD/DoHFW: According to sources, the department of Health & Family Welfare (DoHFW) has reacted to the cease work with an order issued by the Principal Director Dr. Vizolie Z. Suokhrie and another letter by the Mission Director NHM Dr. Kevichusa Medikhru on Sunday.
In the order, Principal Director DoHFW Sunday, citing the indefinite cease work called by the NHM employees which took effect from June 14, directed all Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and Medical Superintendents (MS), to ensure that all NHM employees attend to their duties “during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, failing which necessary disciplinary action will be initiated.”
The order also stated that any employee under NHM- General Nursing & Midwifery (GNM) or Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery (ANM)- who fail to perform their duties from June 15, 2020 will be “forfeited from the queue system/batchwise appointment into the regular post.” The order directed respective district authority to submit by e-mail to the Principal Director DoHFW on June 15, by 1 p.m., the list of employees who fail to report for duties.
NHM: Mission Director NHM Dr. Kevichusa Medikhru had invited NEAN president for a meeting on Sunday but said there was no response from the latter.
In the letter, Dr. Medikhru reminded that the DoHFW was short of manpower to combat the current COVID-19 pandemic and acknowledged the services rendered by NHM employees, in the present and the past.
He informed NEAN that DoH&FW was willing to give an impartial hearing to their demands and urged upon the employees to “come forward for open discussion” to redress grievances. He said the decision to go for an indefinite cease work was made without giving the department any prior notice and therefore “regretful.”
Dr. Medikhru conveyed to NEAN that steps have been initiated to address their demands for which an invitation for a meeting was extended. In the light of the above, he also drew attention of NEAN on the need to combat and contain COVID-19 pandemic where the number of positive cases in the state was increasing. In this regard, the mission director appealed NEAN to call off the cease work, in the interest of public service to achieve the target to mitigate the pandemic situation.
Meanwhile, talking to Nagaland Post NEAN president Dr. Shasinlo Magh said its members could not attend the meeting in Kohima since most of them were in Dimapur. Further, he said nurses under NHM would not bow to pressure tactics.
Dr. Magh also said the indefinite cease work was on, unless the Department responded with clear cut proposals to resolve their demands.
NHM employees cease-work
Over one thousand National Health Mission (NHM) employees across the State began an indefinite cease work from Sunday under the aegis of NHM Employees’ Association, Nagaland (NEAN) demanding regularization of service and parity of pay with other health workers. The development comes even as the State is battling COVID-19 pandemic and could severely impact the government’s efforts in containing the spread of the virus.
Dimapur: NEAN Dimapur unit has pledged its support to the ongoing ‘cease-work’ protest under the aegis of NEAN. In a statement, Dimapur unit president Dr. Sashi Jamir affirmed that the unit will continue to stand with the association till their demands were fulfilled.
Kohima: Similarly, reiterating and reaffirming their full and unwavering support to the NEAN decision to go for an indefinite cease work, all NHM employees of Kohima district began an indefinite cease work and would continue doing so until their demands were met. This was stated in a release by district unit president Dr Medozhatuo Keretsü and general secretary Dr Katila Longchar
Mokokchung: NHM employees under the aegis of NEAN also ceased work for an indefinite period in Mokokchung district. Healthcare workers assigned COVID-19 duties too stopped work. This was stated in a release by district unit of NEAN.
Zunheboto: With NHM employees on strike in Zunheboto district, the chief medical officer, Dr. Khehokhu Chishi has written a letter to the principal director Health department informing that the overall district health management system was on the verge of collapse unless the issues were addressed promptly.
The protest has created unprecedented crisis in addition to already existing manpower shortage. Dr. Chishi said that the NHM employees, at this juncture, were the backbone for facility quarantine duties, surveillance activities as well as reporting and documentations on COVID-19 related activities.
He further said that the CMO office was not in a position to pool human resource from the blocks as most of the regular technical staffs, despite being aged with comorbidities and not well versed with the programme management particularly on COVID-19, were fully engaged in their respective health centres/blocks.
Tuensang: In Tuensang district too, more than 200 NHM employees working under various programmes of the Mission, including technical and non-technical employees, began an indefinite cease work on Sunday.
Stating that all of the NHM employees who ceased work were actively involved in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic in Tuensang district like screening at quarantine centres, sanitation and disinfection, sample collection and testing, data management and reporting, contact tracing, paper works, etc, 24×7 duty, the NEAN Tuensang unit in a release said they would stand in solidarity with NEAN till their demands were met.
According to the release, the NHM employees were also overburdened with hospital duties, in addition to having to perform their routine jobs.
Kiphire: According to a release issued by NEAN Kiphire unit president Dr Dheni and general secretary Jully S Sumi, the association held an emergency meeting during the day and agreed to abide by the association’s directive. All NHM employees of the district decided to go an indefinite stir with immediate effect, the release added.