PESHAWAR, April 3: Scores of first year students of Khyber Teaching Hospital College of Nursing have complained of the improper attitude of the chief nursing superintendent, saying they were unable to study in an environment not conducive to academic activities.
“The hospital administration is in league with the chief nursing superintendent who evicted us from the hostel and used abusive language against us,” alleged a first year student.
She said some 60 students, who were declared failed in one subject in the first year examination held last year, were sent home forcibly.
Later, she said, due to shortage of nursing staff at the hospital, they were called back from their homes and asked to perform duties in wards.
“Meanwhile, we also appeared in papers in which we had failed but the CNS ordered us to leave the hostel immediately. In other hospitals of the province unsuccessful students are retained to work in the wards and allowed to appear in their failed papers next year but due to her (CNS) personal likes and dislikes she does whatever she deems right,” alleged other affected nurses.
The enraged students said their hostel house-keeper/warden was in the habit of using abusive language against them. The hostel house-keeper, Fareeda Bangash, was so powerful that she didn’t care anybody, they added. Her wrongdoings had brought into disrepute the hospital’s image.
“There are some students who follow her diktats and they are given preference over the others. On various occasions, students have complained to high-ups against her high handedness but to no avail,” said another student.
The Chief Nursing Superintendent told Dawn that many students were involved in immoral activities and it had become difficult for the hospital administration to control them. She said the students had been sent home according to Pakistan Nursing Council’s rules because we could not award stipends to the unsuccessful students and it would be impossible for them (nurses) to work here without being paid.
However, the nurses argued that why they were paid stipend for two months and the stipend of as many months was withheld by the CNS and other staff.
According to the Pakistan Nursing Council rules there is no room for a student to be sent home after her failure in the first year examination. And if a student fails in the second attempt, she is reversed for six months. The other two teaching hospitals — Lady Reading Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex — was following the same rules.
“There was no logic in sending the nurses home after their failure in examination. We can utilise their skills in wards which are facing shortage of paramedical and nursing staff,” said a surgeon at KTH.
According to him, three nurses were required for 10 beds. The number of nurses was about 2,000 in the NWFP against 4,900 doctors which was extremely low, he said.
The number of nurses at the 1200-bed Khyber Teaching Hospital is 175; at 1200-bed Lady Reading Hospital the number is 282; at 570-bed Hayatabad Medical Complex the number of nurses stands at 130, while at Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad, the number is 120.