CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government will establish 6 new government nursing colleges across the State and issue appointment orders to 719 contract nurses later this week, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Monday.
The announcement was made at the graduation ceremony of 1,100 government nursing students held at the Golden Jubilee Hall of the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University in Guindy, where the Minister conferred degrees on students from government nursing colleges and training schools.
Addressing reporters after the event, Subramanian said, “New nursing colleges will be set up in Tirunelveli, Tiruchy, Dharmapuri, Vellore, Erode and Tiruvannamalai. This will expand opportunities for young women and also improve the availability of trained nurses in the public health system.”
Referring to employment measures, the Minister said that in response to demands raised during recent nurses’ protests, “appointment orders will be issued on February 13 to 719 nurses who had been working on a contract basis”. The orders will be handed over in the presence of the Chief Minister, he said.
Highlighting the improvements in public health indicators, Subramanian said that maternal deaths, which stood at around 90% during childbirth-related complications before the DMK assumed office, have now reduced significantly.
He added that the State’s overall mortality rate had declined from 10.6% to 7.7% at present, attributing the improvement largely to the role played by nurses. “Nurses are the backbone of Tamil Nadu’s healthcare system. Their service is the reason the State continues to be regarded as a leader in public health in India,” he said.
The Minister noted that Tamil Nadu currently has 6 government nursing colleges and 25 government nursing training schools with 2,060 students, in addition to 285 private nursing colleges and 188 private training schools. Around 27,370 nurses graduate every year from these institutions.
“Over the last four years, more than 5,000 nurses have been given permanent appointments, while 38,209 appointment orders were issued across five years. The government has also created 17,000 new nursing posts,” he added.