An indefinite strike by the United Nurses Association (UNA) has thrown Kerala’s healthcare system into crisis, particularly in Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Kannur. Hospitals are facing severe staff shortages, forcing patient discharges, postponement of procedures, and reliance on makeshift arrangements, while courts step in to safeguard medical services.

Patient care severely disrupted

The strike has hit critical departments hard. Emergency units, ICUs, and neonatal care are operating at minimal capacity. Private hospitals have largely stopped new admissions, and non-emergency surgeries are on hold. At Aster MIMS, patient numbers dropped dramatically from 450 to just 70. Treatments like chemotherapy have been interrupted in some hospitals. Outpatient departments remain open but see far fewer patients.

Hospitals are discharging ward patients and stable ICU patients who do not require immediate life-saving care, a move aimed at managing limited nursing resources while continuing essential services.

Hospitals scramble to maintain operations

Management teams have adopted multiple strategies to keep hospitals functional. Doctors and postgraduate trainees are filling in for nurses, carrying an added clinical and academic burden. A small group of non-striking nurses, nursing students, and daily-wage staff—paid around ₹2,000 per day—are being deployed to maintain skeletal services.

Most facilities are limiting operations to emergencies and life-saving interventions, but even these services are under strain due to the shortage of trained staff.

Court orders protection for hospital operations

The Kerala High Court intervened on Tuesday, directing the State government and police to ensure hospitals are not obstructed amid the strike. The court stressed that patients must have free, uninterrupted access to care and that staff willing to work must be protected from intimidation or coercion by the union.

The bench of Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. acted on a plea from the Kerala Private Hospitals’ Association, which warned that emergency and critical services were being affected across the state. The court suggested invoking provisions under ESMA, 1968, and KESMA, 1994, to declare hospital services essential and prohibit strikes or disruptive activities that endanger public health.

The court will take up the petition again on March 13 (Friday).