UAE health ministry reinstates demoted Indian nurses
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Timely intervention by the Indian Embassy brought big relief to nurses working in government hospitals who feared job loss over education qualification.
Easing tension of hundreds of Indian nurses in public sector, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has reinstated them to the grade of registered nurse from that of practical nurse. The UAE government had earlier made it mandatory that new recruits in the government hospitals have passed a three-and-half-year nursing diploma course. Most of the Indian nurses working in the government hospital - pass outs before 1990 - have studied a three-year diploma course. Those nurses were demoted to the post of practical nurse from registered nurse. The Indian embassy and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs worked in tandem to ease their pain. Kerala NRI commission first member Dr Shamsheer Vayalil also played a crucial role. "Happy that the UAE government has addressed the concerns of the affected nurses," Dinesh Kumar, First Secretary (Community Affairs) at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, said. Dinesh and Shamsheer held parley with the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health. "We presented our case and told them about the anxiety the nurses were facing. On Tuesday, we received a confirmation from the Ministry of Health saying all nurses would be reinstated to their post of registered nurse." "However, from now any nurse seeking to join the government hospitals need to have passed a three-and-half-year diploma course," he added. Shamsheer, who is also the managing director of VPS Healthcare, is happy to have brought relief to hundreds of nurses. "The Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health was very helpful in resolving the whole issue. I used to receive 30-50 mails daily from the nurses regarding this issue. Thankfully, the whole issue has been addressed." Shamheer said the demotion would have naturally affected their pay scale. Nurses are hopeful that soon they will get back their deserved position back. "Some of the nurses who had got their certificates recently have the seal of practical nurse. Hopefully this will be changed now," a nurse working in a government hospital said. "So far, there has been no reduction in our salary. But getting back what we deserve is a good feeling," she added.
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