The Tamil Nadu Nurses Empowerment Association has objected to the State government’s move to redeploy 292 nursing posts from the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) and Preventive Medicine and government hospitals.
The association said that the government was taking steps to redeploy these nurses to Emergency Care and Recovery Centres (ECRC). It has now announced a series of protests starting from July 11 to put forward a charter of their demands.
In a statement issued, the association said that Primary Health Centres functioning under the DPH play a crucial role in taking the government’s healthcare services to persons in rural areas. This includes round-the-clock maternity services, round-the-clock first aid, maternal and child healthcare schemes, immunisation, early identification of diseases and treatment. With this being the situation, the government is taking steps to redeploy 192 posts of mentor staff nurses from the DPH and another 100 from government hospitals to the ECRCs.
Following protests during the previous DMK government, it was agreed that new nursing posts would be created to address the acute shortage of nurses. The Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services subsequently submitted a proposal to the State government recommending the creation of new posts. However, the proposal was rejected and instead of creating new posts, the State government has decided to abolish key nursing posts in rural areas.
Already, most government hospitals in the State are facing a severe shortage of nurses. Nearly 6,500 nurses recruited through the Medical Services Recruitment Board have not been regularised for nine years. The present TVK government should fulfil its election promise by creating permanent nursing posts based on patient load and regularise their services.
Meanwhile, steps are being taken to fill nursing tutor posts in the six government nursing colleges announced during the previous regime on a consolidated-pay basis.
The association has announced a series of protests, demanding that the government withdraw its plan to make appointments on a consolidated-pay basis, reverse the redeployment of nursing posts, create new permanent nursing posts and regularise the services of all nurses currently employed on consolidated pay.
Published – July 11, 2026 01:03 am IST
