Meghalaya youth body pushes for gender ratio in nursing staff at NEIGRIHMS

The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has escalated its campaign for implementing an 80:20 female-to-male nurse ratio at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

HYC President Roykupar Synrem formally requested Union Health Minister JP Nadda's intervention after discovering that a recent advertisement for 105 nursing positions failed to specify any gender ratio requirements.

The council expressed concern that without established ratios, male nurses would be disproportionately hired, as allegedly happened during previous recruitment drives. NEIGRIHMS had previously sought ministry approval to implement the 80:20 female-male ratio—a standard already adopted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and other federal healthcare institutions.

However, in August 2024, the Health Ministry explicitly advised NEIGRIHMS against adopting this gender-based staffing model.

Synrem highlighted that of NEIGRIHMS' 40 departments requiring nursing staff, only three are male wards. The council argues that patient comfort and care are at stake, noting specific concerns in pediatric and intensive care units where mothers and female patients often feel uncomfortable with male nurses, particularly during breastfeeding or when procedures require privacy.

"Maximum numbers of female nurses should be appointed for patient comfort and care by adopting the 80:20 ratio," Synrem stated in his appeal.

The HYC has simultaneously submitted a memorandum to Meghalaya Governor CH Vijayashankar seeking his intervention in the matter, demonstrating the council's determination to pursue multiple channels to achieve its objective.