Ahmedabad: A situation has emerged where Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital, operated by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, appears to be run by corporation unions. Staff nurses working at VS Hospital are required to report for duty at LG and Shardaben hospitals on a rotation basis. Despite this, the city’s mayor and VS Board chairman have been unable to transfer 40 hospital staff nurses. Of these 40, 23 nurses were transferred to corporation-run Urban Health Centers near their homes at the union’s direction.
Since patient numbers at VS Hospital are lower, staff nurses are transferred to LG and Shardaben hospitals every three months. The municipal commissioner had previously issued a circular regarding this matter. Currently, different corporation unions are active at VS Hospital. A dispute had earlier arisen when staff nurses working at VS Hospital refused to report for rotational duty at LG and Shardaben hospitals as per the commissioner’s circular. At that time, the Standing Committee chairman had announced suspension for 40 employees if they failed to report for duty at the assigned corporation-run hospitals, but this announcement also proved to be a fiasco.
Twenty-three hospital staff nurses have been posted at Urban Health Centers near their homes. According to reliable sources, the remaining 17 staff nurses will be transferred to locations of their choice. Despite complaints about snatching attendance registers from matrons and taking them outside to mark attendance, no action has been taken against anyone. Not even the salary of a single staff nurse who has been absent from duty at other corporation hospitals for 20 days has been deducted.
BJP officials bow to unions before elections
With corporation general elections approaching in February, the city’s mayor and other officials do not want to displease various corporation unions, so they are staying silent and accepting every matter by bowing to their pressure.
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