Nurse Shortage Impacting COVID-19 Situation in India

While vaccinations and improved COVID-19 pandemic management are slowly returning life to normalcy in several countries, the deadly pandemic continues to ravage India. The country is currently experiencing its second, and most deadly, wave of the virus. The Indian government’s lackadaisical and untimely response to the pandemic has led to many of the acute issues the country now faces, like limited hospital beds, even fewer ICU beds, and low supplies of oxygen cylinders and ventilators. Even the crematoriums have been overrun. However, the most consequential issue in managing the pandemic is the dire shortage of nurses. 

India’s public health care system and infrastructure have always been weak, with woeful shortages of health personnel, including doctors but also nurses who play a critical role on the frontlines of managing this pandemic. This has been especially true over the last two years as India has postponed exams and hiring campaigns necessary to get health workers into the workforce. This shouldn’t come as a surprise for a nation that allocated just 0.34% of its GDP toward healthcare during a raging pandemic, contrary to higher claims by the government. These conditions have led many Indian nurses to migrate and seek employment in other countries, creating a serious shortage of nurses in the country that the government desperately needs to fill in during the pandemic. 

Nurses are essential in the fight against COVID-19 because they are the individuals trained to operate vital medical equipment like ventilators, administer oxygen, and draw blood while caring for patients with the virus, thereby freeing up doctors to address larger issues. They also risk their own health and safety while assisting patients, and many nurses have contracted COVID-19 while treating patients.

The shortage of nurses is stretching the capacity of those nurses battling COVID-19 and they are overworked, leading to mental and physical exhaustion. With no support, the working nurses also have to care for more patients and often need to make split-second decisions that can have critical consequences, like which patients get access to treatment first. This shortage of nurses and their stretched capacity translates into many patients dying alone in their hospital beds. 

Tiyara is investing in changing India’s public healthcare system for the long term by building the country’s healthcare capacity through educational opportunities for under-resourced students. Over 70% of our students are pursuing health-related education like Nursing and Radiography in order to shore up the healthcare infrastructure in India. You can help make a difference in the life of a student by putting them through college and, at the same time, build toward a better future for India’s healthcare system by contributing to our cause today!