Private sector health workers have for the time being bailed the Nagaland government out of a crisis following a ‘cease-work’ protest by some 1,800 National Health Mission (NHM) doctors and other staff over regularisation of their service.
The protests across the State amid the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic began on June 14.
By June 16 afternoon, Nagaland recorded a total of 179 positive cases with 87 of them active and 92 having recovered.
“We thought it [cease-work] would paralyse the operations but we were able to employ the services of the private practitioners for swab collections and testing is being done without any problem,” the State’s COVID-19 spokesperson Mmhonlumo Kikon told The Hindu.
“So the administrative problem of discharging those returnees who have tested negative and certified recovered by the doctors have been avoided for now,” he added.
A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Bhandari Assembly constituency, Mr. Kikon is also the adviser to the State government for information technology and science and technology.
A healthcare crisis began in Nagaland when the NHM Employees’ Association, Nagaland (NEAN) comprising ambulance drivers, laboratory technicians, nurses, dental, AYUSH and allopathic doctors, ceased work demanding regularisation of service and parity of pay with their State government counterparts besides similar benefits.
The reason behind the stir was the State Cabinet’s approval on June 11 for the creation of 53 posts of specialist doctors and 143 posts of staff nurses at 11 district hospitals.
“We did not want to take such a drastic step during the COVID-19 pandemic but the Cabinet decision made us demand the regularisation of services of contract workers under NHM,” said NEAN president Shasinlo Magh.
Various organisations and political parties, including the Opposition Naga People Front, acknowledged the “genuine demands” of the NEAN members. They, however, pointed out that cease-work during COVID-19 would have an adverse impact on public health.
“We are hopeful of breaking the deadlock in the greater interest of the people through discussions,” a senior Health Department official said, insisting many nurses and NHM doctors had defied their association’s call for the sake of humanity.
