Hiring of retired nurses okayed to meet staff shortage at NICVD

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday approved the regularisation of low-paid contractual employees of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the hiring of retired nurses through a proper procedure to overcome an acute shortage of nurses at the health facility.

Presiding over the 79th governing body meeting of the hospital at the CM House, he also ordered the start of a nursing school at the health facility to train the nurses in area cardiovascular care and treatment.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Adviser on Law Murtaza Wahab, MPAs Dr Sohrab Sarki, Asif Jahangir, Health Secretary Kazim Jatoi Dr Shajila Leghari, NICVD Executive Director Dr Nadeem Qamar, Mohammad Idrees, JPMC Executive Director Prof Shahid Rasool, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro and other officials concerned.

The meeting discussed the appointment of the chief finance officer (CFO) for the NICVD and also approved the appointment of Faisal Abdul Satar as new CFO. He has a 25-year experience, including nine years in the healthcare sector as CFO.

The NICVD executive director told the meeting that there was an acute shortage of trained and well-experienced nurses in the NICVD; therefore, he requested the board to approve the hiring of retired nurses for the hospital. The governing body approved the request and directed the NICVD administration to follow the procedure.

The chief minister directed the hospital administration to start its own nursing school to meet its requirements as well as the needs of other institutes/hospitals. The government body was told that there was a considerable number of low-grade employees who had been working at the NICVD for two to three years. The board, in principle, approved the regularisation of only those who had a good record of service, and their services were necessary for the institute.