FLIGHT OF GOD'S OWN ANGELS DEEPENS INDIA'S HEALTH WOES

Long hours, poor working conditions, and miserable pay are driving nurses to distant shores

- Nidheesh M.K.

In the bustling corridors of a hospital in Kerala, the pulse of patient care never seems to slow down. Amid the controlled chaos, Jilsna Jose, a nurse in the gynecology ward, goes through her daily routine with a blend of precision and compassion. Yet, behind her composed demeanor lies a tale of unhappiness, which will end, she said, only when she quits this "noble, wonderful, and shitty"job.

The biggest of her problems is the lack of money. She slogs more than 12 hours a day, six days a week, yet only earns about ₹20,000 a month, more than half of which goes into repaying the loan she took to study nursing in a private college.

Jose's day starts with checking the inventory and the handover of patient data from nurses in the previous shift. Then she proceeds to accompany the doctors on their rounds. Every day, the hospital handles about 10 deliveries and discharges, for which she must prepare the documentation. By then, it'll be lunchtime, but sometimes she skips lunch to indent medicines for patients so she can leave soon after her shift.

But often, there are emergencies. Like a mother seeing blood in her breast milk, a baby in the neonatal ICU developing a fever, or a child running around the corridor getting burned by hot water. And despite all that the nurses do to keep the hospital running smoothly, she said she has never received a word of thanks from the hospital staff or patients. Worse, she's dismayed by the indignity meted out at times. She was threatened with physical assault just recently, by the father of a patient.