CHENNAI: All the city hospitals which were badly hit as nurses went on strike over the weekend have said that they are managing reasonably well, as the impasse with the nurses entered the fifth day. While all major affected hospitals are avoiding non-critical cases, emergency outpatient services and surgeries have been carried out, hospital authorities said. Dr Satyanarayana Reddy, Chennai region CEO of Apollo Hospitals, said: “We have been managing all our emergency services as well as OP consultations with the help of working committed nurses, paramedical staff, residents and others. Patient care is of utmost importance.” Even as the 800 odd nurses chose not to work on Monday, representatives from hospitals and the nurses association met with the Labour Commissioner and held talks through the day.However, in a move that sent jitters through most of the younger nurses on strike, both Madras Medical Mission and Apollo Hospitals have announced additional recruitment. Reddy confirmed that they had “augmented recruitment” to tackle the situation. MMM CEO Joe Kurian said that they got tremendous response to the recruitment notices floated on Monday. Most nurses held unofficial talks and, according to insiders, have even considered withdrawal from strike, over fear of losing their jobs. Meanwhile, a day after reports surfaced that some ‘private hospitals’ had resorted to threatening nurses and even cutting power to their hostels, Reddy assured that these were rumours. Independent bodies like Doctors Association for Social Equality (DASE) expressed their support said that they would stick with the nurses in the event of an “endless” stir.
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