The State government’s ban on appointment is apparently having a negative impact, especially in the Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) department where many posts of nurses, drivers and peons are reportedly lying vacant on account of periodical retirements.
Health department sources informed Nagaland Post that the posts of 60 Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANMs), drivers and peons were lying vacant now due to periodical retirements, but the government was yet to respond to the department’s proposal for new appointments.
But given the current crisis, the sources opined that the government should seriously consider the proposal of the essential service departments like H&FW, adding that many complaints had been received on shortage of nurses from many health units.
It may be mentioned that the State cabinet in its meeting on April 7 had decided to collect data within two weeks from various departments on the essential posts that needed to be filled up and, upon completion of the process, the cabinet decided to take up the issue again for further discussion.
Meanwhile, the sources alleged that many primary health centres (PHCs) and sub-centres were set up politically without assessing the ground reality because of which, complaints of absence of doctors and nurses, peons and others were on the rise.
It may be recalled that the state government on May 17 appointed 56 medical graduates/practitioners as medical officers (MOs) on a temporary basis, based on the recommendations made by Health & Family Welfare department.
Later, on May 23 Health minister, in a tweet, informed that the department had posted another 56 newly recruited young medical officer’s to various health care centres across the state.