After the introduction of daily fever camps, nurse attached to Chennai Corporation says she is overburdened with work. With no option for taking leave, she also seems to be frustrated now.
Since the past few days, the civic body has been holding regular fever camps to contain the virus spread. And the Corporation’s nurses have been working round the clock to arrange the camps and carry out fever survey at the camp location.
Says a nurse attached to a local UPHC (Urban Primary Health Centre), “Every day, I have to start my work at around 7 am. After conducting 2 fever camps that run for almost 2 hours, I come back to the UPHC.”
There, the nurse says she creates a report on the persons sent for COVID 19 testing during the day’s fever camp. And then, we carry out the regular check-up of pregnant women and diabetes patients.
“I check almost 150 to 200 people for virus symptoms at each camp. There is no break. I go back home at around 5.30 pm or 6 pm feeling sick and tired. Similar is the case of most of the other nurses here.”
Amidst all this, she says there is no option of taking leave as well. “The workload is high but the manpower limited. Hence, we are allowed to take leave only in an emergency that too if a substitute is available to do our work.”
And though we work for extra hours, our salary is not being revised, she says.
Besides, she says many nurses also face problems in commuting to the UPHCs as there is no public transport.
