Doctors and nurses at the Kurunegala hospital are in dispute over the presence of student male nurses inside labour rooms.
The Nurses’ unions claim that it’s part of the three-year Degree course on nursing, while the doctors counter that having male nurses in labour rooms make mothers uncomfortable, and is a custom not practised anywhere in the world.
Secretary- Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA), Dr. Bimantha Gunasekara said that the public should have a say on the matter, whether to allow male nurses inside labour rooms, while 95% of the nurses are female.
Propaganda Secretary- Sri Lanka Government Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA), Jayantha Wimalasiri said that clinical training in the labour room is a part of the nursing Degree programme. “Originally, the Degree programme was of four years duration, but was reduced to three”, he explained.
In addition to the aforementioned issue, the GNOA staged two strikes last week. First, to include their demand for an amendment to the Nursing Constitution, while the second was calling on the Health Ministry to withdraw the letter sent to nurses who participated in the three-hour walkout on Monday (25), asking for their demands to be met.
They claim that, even though the Health Ministry held discussions with them, and the Sri Lanka Nurses Union asked for suggestions for the amendment, they were not included in the draft drawn that was due to be forwarded to the Cabinet.
The requested amendments to the constitution are: Increase quota of male nurses from 5% to 20%, make the nursing Degree a four-year one (currently it’s three years) and include the clinical and allow students to follow them, extend the training period from 3 years to 3 ½ years, change the Overtime rate, work-week a five-day week like other government servants (now it’s six days per week) and pay an accident allowance of Rs 5,000 |
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