Supreme Court asks Centre to look into grievances of Nurses working in private hospitals

We feel that the nurses who are working in private hospitals and nursing homes are not being treated fairly in the matter of their service conditions and pay, the Court said.

Supreme Court, last Friday, said that it feels that the nurses who are working in private hospitals and nursing homes are not being treated fairly in the matter of their service conditions and pay. Three Judge Bench comprising of Justices Anil R. Dave, Shiva Kirti Singh and Adarsh Kumar Goel in Trained Nurses Association of India vs. Union of India & ors however refused to issue any guidelines in the matter, but said that grievances highlighted in the petition needs to be looked into by the Committee consisting of experts.

The Petition

The prayer in the writ petition filed by the Trained Nurses Association of India sought guidelines on the following

• Improving the working condition of nurses in hospitals/nursing homes;
• Nurses working in the private sector are paid salary equivalent to those working in Government hospitals
• appropriate action against hospitals/nursing homes insisting on bond from nurses working in their establishments
• bond system practiced by hospitals/nursing homes is unconstitutional and illegal;
• appropriate directions to Union of India to frame necessary guidelines to improve working conditions of nurses in India

Form a committee to look into grievances highlighted

The Court said it feels that the nurses who are working in private hospitals and nursing homes are not being treated fairly in the matter of their service conditions and pay. The Court said that it expects the Central government to look into the grievances ventilated in this petition, by forming a Committee within four months from today. “We are sure that after examining the factual situation, if the Committee is of the view that the grievances ventilated in the petition are correct, the Committee will make its recommendations, so as to do the needful for improvement of working conditions and pay of the nurses working in private hospitals and nursing homes within six months from its constitution, which can ultimately be given a form of legislation by the respondent-States or by the Central Government itself” , the Bench said.

Read the order here.