Five seats out of six of grade 20 in the nursing profession have been lying vacant for more than four years while the sixth seat, currently occupied by director general nursing, would also be vacant by the end of this year, Pakistan Today has learnt. This clearly reflects the magnitude of Health Department’s interest in filling the seats.
Sources in the Punjab Health Department said that the vacant seats were that of the College of Nursing Birdwood Road principal, Jinnah Hospital chief nursing superintendent (CNS), School of Nursing Mayo Hospital principal, Services Hospital CNS and Mayo Hospital CNS. Shehnaz Victor was Services Hospital’s last CNS, who was transferred in 2007 to Jinnah Hospital as a CNS.
She worked there for more than two years and in 2009, she got retirement from her job and since then both the seats in Services Hospital and Jinnah Hospital have been lying vacant. College of Nursing Birdwood Road principal Irshad Begum retired from her job in 2007, while School of Nursing Mayo Hospital principal Nusrat Sultana left her seat in 2009. Both the seats have not been filled yet.
Mayo Hospital CNS Shahmeem Nabi Buksh, who worked in grade 19 and whose seat was later upgraded to grade 20 in 2010, left the seat in 2010, and the seat has been vacant since then. Director General Nursing Nurgis Butt, who allegedly was appointed owing to her political influence, is the only official who has been working in grade 20, but she too will retire by the end of this year.
Nurgis Butt said that the Punjab government had promoted doctors not only from grade 17 to 18 but had also promised them to solve promotion cases regarding grade 18, 19 and 20 but no one paid attention to nurses cases and their promotions. She told that all staff nurses were fretting over the transfer, posting and up-gradation policies of the government.
Health Department sourced disclosed that it had been a while since the meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) was called, owing to which these seats of grade 20 were vacant. Jinnah Hospital Nursing Superintendent Nusrat Siddique said though five seats of grade 20 were unoccupied, a number of grade 19 seats were also vacant and staff nurses were waiting for their promotion.
She told that the Health Department should call DPC to solve such issues. A Punjab Health Department official said that the Punjab government had decided to solve the matter regarding promotion and up-gradation on urgent basis and it would be solved within six months and DPC too would be called soon.
