Indian government hospitals ail with 1 in 4 nurse posts vacant

 23-May-16, The Times of India 

Karnataka may boast of having the highest number of nursing institutes in the country, but its hospitals are facing a shortage of nurses.

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According to the health and family welfare department, around 23.6% of nurse posts - 2,118 of the 8,949 sanctioned posts - in government hospitals are vacant. So where have all the nurses gone? Most of them are migrating abroad for better pay and work conditions, say experts.

"While better pay is a driving force for nurses leaving the country, there are other factors such as dissatisfaction with work environment, lack of recognition and respect they deserve in the healthcare system and negative social attitude towards the profession," says Dr Upendra Bojhani, assistant director at the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru.

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